Sherwood Forest
by Insertusernamehere27
Summary: Robin Hood was more than a legend. He was a man in love that fate destined to be one of England's greatest heroes. His Merry Men also had stories to tell as their dramas intertwine and add to the epic adventure as they band of unlikely heroes, make a change
1. The Beginning

The final battle ended in September. Some may find it strange, to begin with an end. But I can think no place better. For now I look upon, my comrades, the men and women who fought along side me, my fellow gang members, my friends. Right now, there is triumph, but there is also pain as folk reflect upon their wounds, and more importantly, their fallen comrades. Yet I remember when we were all fresh-faced young outlaws, thinking that they could save England by stealing a few taxes from the rich and giving to the poor. I remember each friend's journey as they grew. And more importantly, I remember those lost along the way. There are far too many of these you see.

So as I recall so much, I think it only proper that I be the one to write it all down. So here it is. It is not my journey, but all of ours. And mainly, the journey of Robin Hood.

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I suppose that I best know my audience and begin with the day that Robin's path crossed my own. It is also, incidentally, the day he met Marian. The day it all began I suppose.

But first, let it be known that I, Allen A Dale, was never a believer in true love. Every tale that told of the hero rescuing the beautiful maiden makes me sick to my stomach. So of course I must feel slight annoyance at these two for making me contradict my own beliefs. It therefore pains to have to write their tale, as it is probable that they will take over. Such an action is rather normal for them.

It began simple enough. There was once two young boys, roughing the bustling streets of Nottingham to indulge is young childhood games. This was a time of prosperity, under the rule of Richard the Lionheart. During this time, it was a regular occurrence for the market to be alive with the business of tradesmen and customers rather than the dead silence of later years. The noise and chaos of the market had no effect on these young boys. Their only thoughts were of how much mud they could cover the other in. So far, the competition seemed evenly matched. As you could have guessed, one of these boys was Robin. The smaller, brunette one. Thanks to the mud, there was no sign of the future looks that would make many a woman swoon. The only thing that the mud seemed unable to ruin was those eyes, bright green, often wearing a look that showed much thought happening in that mind of his. At this time, he lived on the street. He was alone after his Mother died when he was only six. But even then, he was resourceful. Perhaps, one could say that his training in theft began at this early stage. It could definitely explain the skill, which always seemed to come at ease. Whatever the reason, he had managed to survive on his own for over four years.

But back to the point of this minor tale. The game at hand would have been perfectly fine, if it had not been for young Marian walking past at the time. And trouble always has a way of finding that girl. Therefore, it made sense that a stray mud ball was flung off course and flew toward her expensive new gown. But Robin, being the chivalrous young boy he was, would ever allow such an action. Leaping forward, he pushed her to the side, taking the mud ball upon himself. Ever the joker, he fell to the ground, moaning in false pain crying, "I've been hit! I don't think I'll ever walk again."

Marian giggled despite herself. She didn't find the joke particularly humorous but there was something about the boy that made her want to remain as long as she could. She knelt down, seemingly following the jest and inspecting his 'wounds.' He considered this quite the victory for even at the age of seven, Marian was beautiful. In a crowd, ones eyes could not help but be drawn to that golden hair. The bright blue of her new gown served well to accentuate the beauty of her eyes and the tint of her rosy cheeks. But behind that perfect face, there was a soul that longed for mischief. So while Robin inwardly congratulated himself, she took advantage of his distraction, scooped up a handful of mud and dropped in on his face. "It can be your punishment," she laughed as he sputtered. "Next time, watch where you throw your mud."

She was foolish to laugh. Robin hated to lose and now she was the one distracted. Momentarily, her new dress had suffered and was completely ruined by his mud toss. Now she was the one at a loss for words while he laughed. But it would take a lot more than that to silence her. She had always been the kind of girl who was a small step away from believing that a new gown was worthy of a national holiday. I have known no one other than Robin who could get away with such a crime. It was always slightly hypocritical in that way that she had ruined many a gown herself from physical activity, which was frowned upon by all who believed her to be the perfect young lady. But nonetheless, Robin had to pay that day.

Many a horrified villager ran for their lives as the mud flew wildly about as each child thoroughly enjoyed ferociously attacking the other. This happiness had little to do with the fun of revenge. For Robin, it was a way of escaping his poverty through such a simple act of humour. For Marian, it was a chance to experience friendship. Many describe her as strong willed. This was a nice way of stating that she was a horribly bossy child which resulted in many other children tiring of being ordered about and fleeing.

Finally the complaints of the people were responded to and a nearby guard attempted to break up the mini war. "Oi!" he called across and each child panicked. The blonde boy, who had been part of the original game, had clearly had enough, being ignored once Robin and Marian had met and now with the threat of trouble. He was gone in almost an instant. Robin and Marian remained, refusing to show fear. Thanks to the unfortunate amount of grime inflicted upon her, Marian was unrecognizable as a noble and the guard saw only two street children causing mischief upon his sector. Each stride he took resulted in his anger growing and when he finally reached them, he seemed to have reached the peak of fury. "What do you think you're doing? You scum are exactly the thing that's gone wrong with Nottingham," he yelled at them, resulting in Marian reeling back ever so slightly and Robin leaping in front of her. Each jerk of his hands resulted in the children leaping backwards, preparing for the strike that was clearly approaching.

"You leave her alone, you hear?" Robin yelled at him, puffing out his chest and appearing as brave as he possibly could. Most of this courage was genuine. When there were people to protect, Robin never thought anything of himself.

The guard only laughed. "You're in for a right striking," he threatened in a horrid tone. He was thrown off when he saw Robin stand his ground. Never before had a child of the streets shown such bravery. But this was not the kind of guard who was easily impressed. His arm was raised in a fast motion that could only be followed by the strongest of punches.

A single voice rang out calling, "stop at once!" There was something in the voice that made the guard drop his hand instantly. Turning in horror, he laid eyes upon King Richard. He was on his knees in a faster motion than ever before, head bowed to the ground in the shame. King Richard the Lion Heart was, after all, the greatest King that England had ever seen. During his rule, the people lived in peace and prosperity, despite the fact that we barley saw him. Some say he longed for the fight, fascinating over tales of the crusades and other past epic battles. He still had the ability to rule with a fair but kind hand and the people loved him for it.

"Marian," he called out and she quickly ran to his side. Surprising all present, he knelt down to her level and in a gentle voice he asked her, "Are you alright?" To this, she nodded. "Did that man hurt you?" To this she shook her head. It was clear that the guard had seen the error of his ways and was shaking in worry. King Richard turned back to him. He was clearly angered. "You dare to lay a hand on my niece," he said. His tone was calm but the man still shook. He had no time to respond before the King spoke again. "Do you see who you were just yelling at?"

The man stuttered out, "your niece?" It was interesting for Robin to see how quickly a man shrunk down to size when faced with superiority.

It had not been the answer that the King was looking for. "Oh contrare. These are children. You know what children look like, yes? Here is a clue. They are not the same as criminals and evil folk who should be treated in the manor you just showed. I feel that you need to be taught about the appropriate times to show mercy." The man shook even more and finally King Richard weakened. "Times such as now. Be on your way but I expect to never see you treating anyone undeserving in such a way ever again."

The guard ran away at a rather incredible speed. Quite a considerable crowd had gathered, most hoping to see someone punished. King Richard addressed them, saying, "I hope the you have all learnt the same lesson. And I apologize for the scene and hope that you can return to your every day tasks." He was a man of few words but he had no need for them. Everyone respected him enough to follow his orders instantly and once again the market place was bustling with regular business.

Turning back to his niece, the few people still observing saw a very different side to the King. A great paternal instinct seemed to take over as he brushed as much mud off of her face as he could. "Come," he said kindly, "we best you get cleaned up before your Mother sees." Then taking her hand, he led her back to where one could see his carriage.

She was obviously not ready to depart, struggling to look back at Robin. This did not go unnoticed by the King who was surprised. "Who is that?" he asked her.

"My friend," she said, bring a smile to not only her face but Robin's as well.

King Richard took in Robin's appearance, or at least the small parts he could see behind the mud. What could not be hidden was his small size as lack of food was clearly shown. Far too many bones were visible. Putting on his most gentle tone, the King approached him and asked, "What is your name child?"

Robin paused before responding. In the past, direct words with such nobility had been punished. And these times had been for interaction with folk far less important than the King of England. "Robin," he said simply, unsure of how to address such a man, as well as being at a loss over whether he even should.

Seeing his fear and uncertainty, King Richard spoke even softer. "Well Robin, I feel I should thank you. I saw how you protected Marian and that was very brave of you. Now where is your family? I want to thank them too." Robin said nothing, looking down to the ground. It took no genius to see that he was completely alone.

King Richard looked to Robin and then to Marian. He knew of Marian's trouble with other children and seemed impressed that she had not scared Robin away yet. Part of the trouble with her friendships was that no one had shown the bravery to stand up to her. Looking at both children, Richard suspected that he may have found someone quite capable of keeping her in line.

And so it was decided. Robin was to return to Nottingham castle with Marian to be her playmate. It was difficult to see who was more excited at the idea.

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I still remember the day I met Robin. It was shortly after he came to live in the castle, during of my regular visits. Marian was my cousin you see and my parents enjoyed living the privilege of their connections. My Father was brother to Marian's Mother who married King Richard's younger brother. Therefore it became a regular occurrence for me and my older sister Annie to visit Nottingham in the hopes of my parents gaining as much influence as they possibly could. I had previously disliked these visits thanks to how Marian had often acted. Do not get me wrong, I love her and think of her more as a sister. But the weeks grew long as I was ordered about. Some called her a free spirit. I believe that this translates to a blatant disregard to anyone's rules but that of her own. But I was pleasantly surprised during this visit. It seemed that Robin brought out the best in her and had a small sway that resulted in her being ever so slightly less annoying. She still believed everyone's actions to revolve around her but Robin seemed able to draw her back when she became a tad too bossy. She still controlled him with ease despite the years between them in age. She had that effect upon everyone. At this time, I was eleven and she was eight. But she was still clearly in charge of me. Manipulation was the art Robin used on her and I inwardly thanked him for it. Such action proved positive for my sister and I as we went the entire summer without the ordinary bruises and broken bones that normally came from Marian's games.

Not everyone was as thankful as I, namely Annie. She may have been my sister but I never thought much of her. Folk such as her liked to believe that they were better than everyone else and she hated the idea of being forced to play with anyone that was not nobility. The day she met Robin, she refused to acknowledge him. She had her nose in the air and muttered, "It amazes me. The type of filth they let into the castle."

Marian may have been a little brat at that stage of her life, but she had her good points. In this case, the points were how no one was allowed to say such things about her friend. I darted away as fast as I could, not wanting to around for the cross fire and when I returned, Annie was strangely silent, having clearly been put back in her place. She had clearly learnt, not to be kinder sadly. But she had learnt to hold her tongue around Marian and this was at least an improvement.

I liked Robin straight away, probably because Annie disliked him so much. I figured that anyone who could get under my sisters skin like that must be all right. However, we never spoke for a long time. This was in no way due to a shy factor of for lack of anything to say. Our problem was that we were around females for far too much time and they had quite a knack for talking. It was extremely difficult to get a word in edgeways and we settled happily in our given silence while being ordered about.

But one day, we found ourselves without the females who had previously demanded constant attention. And there was silence. With this silence came the realisation that we had never really spoken to each other. Rather than acknowledge how uncomfortable we both were, we both busied ourselves in whatever task we could find. I reached for a heavy book that lay nearby, ignoring the fact that I did not know anything I was reading. Nowadays, I consider myself to be quite the genius and hate to admit that at this time, I struggled with reading. But in all fairness, the book was in Latin and such words were completely unknown to me. But my hatred for uncomfortable situations won over and I continued.

"Is it a good book?" Robin asked me, surprising me with the sudden sound. It was strange to not hear the sudden interjection from a female after he dared to make a remark.

"Of course," I lied. "Do you really expect me to read anything but?" He smiled but once again neither of us had anything to say. "Would you like a turn?" I asked, offering the book to him. Robin was the same as me in the way that we both hated admitting weakness. So he took the book, pretending to be enthralled as he simply stared at the strange markings.

He did not have the same skill as me when it came to faking knowledge. Laughing, I told him, "You're holding it upside down!"

He laughed right back as I fell into his trap. "I held it the same way you did," he informed me.

"It is probably boring anyway," I managed to say as our laughter ceased. "Anything in Latin is bound to be uninteresting." This was true. Later in life, I did in fact finish the said book and without a doubt, it was the worst thing I have ever had to do.

Robin decided to disagree with me. "Not necessarily," he decided. "This word looks a little like 'dragon.' This book is now officially about dragons." And from this we had a wonderful afternoon attempting to decipher the book and rewriting it into our own exciting tale. This did well to bore the females when they returned but we enjoyed the intellectual conversation for a change. And our friendship grew from that day onward until I considered him to be my best friend.

For the first time, we had no wish to leave Nottingham when summer ended. So we requested to return in winter. And the following summer. This continued until eventually, we remained in Nottingham on a permanent basis for my parents passed quickly from sickness when I was twelve. I mourned them but did not feel deep sadness. There had never been a lot of love between us.

And that is how I spent my childhood. Loving life with my two best friends, and Annie. All the while, I continued to observe the relationship between Robin and Marian form and grow.

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Their first milestone came during Marian's tenth birthday. These days had never been of great enjoyment to her. Such a fact would surprise many a person. After all, a birthday would be the one-day Marian would be allowed to act in her normal manner of considering herself the master of everyone. And normally she would love such a day, but only if she would be able to celebrate in a manner of her own choosing. You see, she found happiness in simple days in which she was allowed to be free and do whatever she pleased with Robin, Annie and myself. But birthdays had to be celebrated in a manner that reflected her status, and this generally meant that she was forced to be around other snooty girls who were far bossier than herself. Apparently, such a person can exist. But when Marian ordered us about, this was not done in cruelty but rather all in good humour. These other children wanted to show power of others and she hated them all.

Her day began happily enough, despite being awoken at the ordinary early hour. She had never been the kind of person who coped well with mornings. At any late hour of the night, she could be found buzzing about, full of energy. But mornings saw her barley able to keep her eyes open as she cursed the world. Her nursemaid Amelia had long struggled with the task of forcing the girl out of the warmth of her bed. On this particular morning, Amelia seemed to find the magic words as she said, "come on now. You have a big day ahead. And that young boy of yours stopped by earlier. I told him that he was mad for thinking you to be awake so early by your own warped standards. But he wanted to see you before the crowds came." Marian had shot out of bed before Amelia had the chance to finish and was already out of the door. "Mistress!" she called after her, "you are not yet dressed or anything!" Sighing, she smiled, knowing full well that she had no control over the situation.

Marian was far too excited to worry about pointless factors of appearance. Although she did quickly regret the choice of not reaching for a robe. The early winter air quickly pierced at her skin and she took the time to race back and quickly take her favourite blue robe to cover her nightgown. Amelia knew better than to try and stop her.

And then she was off again. Off to their favourite spot. The older part of the castle had always been the part Marian favoured. A large section in which people no longer resided. From the absence of others, she liked to consider it her own domain, where she could escape people, other than the favoured few that she liked to be around. It was not much a domain. Large holes had gradually been created through the walls and roof and vines and other undergrowth grew indoors. This only made Marian love the place more, thinking to be similar to a fairy tale castle. Few items of furniture and décor remained but served their purpose. A large portrait of William the Conqueror covered a large hole in the wall, which had long since been discovered by Marian. This hole lead to a garden, over run with vines but summer saw it overrun with beautiful roses which Marian had always favoured. Due the early stages of winter, no such flowers could be seen at present but Marian still loved every inch of the place.

Pushing back the portrait, she entered and leapt at Robin in a large hug. "Careful!" he said happily. "You always nearly bowl me over."

"Can I have my gift now?" she asked, gaining a sigh and more laughter from him.

"And here I was thinking that you were just happy to see me," he joked. Both knew that she genuinely was happy and cared little for gifts. They only made her uncomfortable at how much people would spend on her. This is why she loved Robin's gifts so much. He had no money so was unable to give her a pointless expensive gift which meant nothing to her. He on the other hand, was always embarrassed to give her his hand-made gifts. It was difficult in many ways, being a Saxon amongst Normans. But he had always managed to please her every year. This year he had formed had a necklace, carved from a pale pink stone. He hated giving it to her, knowing full well that she would be given dozens of necklaces, each covered in expensive jewels and gold. But she had never loved a necklace more and insisted on wearing it all day, even when her parents insisted that she not insult anyone by ignoring their gift. "I would simply have to change again when given the next one," she complained. "And I like this one more." She was quickly shushed but Robin heard and was finally happy with himself.

The morning was quickly processing and Marian knew full well that soon she would have return to her chambers and spend far too much time being dressed and changed into what others believed to be the ideal young Norman noble. "Can I just stay here all day?" she half- heartedly asked Robin as she sunk down on the roots of the large oak tree.

He sunk down beside her. "Your parents would have a fit. And they already care little for me."

"It could be worse. They could hate you as much as Annie hates you," she joked. They both laughed but not as much as they would on an ordinary day. Both dreaded re-joining the real world, as many a Norman would spend the day judging them or talking down to them.

But it was impossible to feel sadness in their special place. "Come on," Robin said, holding her hands and pulling her up. "We can help each other through. And if you don't go soon, Amelia will have a fit."

Knowing full well that this was true, they both rushed away. But they had been right about the kind of day that was ahead of them. It took a whole morning of countless servants racing about to make Marian reach the image that her Mother wished for. Amelia was blue in the face from all of the running, as she had never been the fittest of women. Eventually Marian's Mother took pity on her and Amelia collapsed onto Marian's bed, swearing to eat less in future. We all loved Amelia and considered her big boned rather than large. But a little more exercise would never hurt I suppose.

Eventually Marian was deemed ready. Her hair was pinned so tight that it made her head spin and the lavender dress was far too tight, making her struggle to breathe. "There will be important people present today Marian," her Mother said, ignoring the look of uncomfort on her daughters face. Instead, she took the time to list everything Marian should and should not do. "Now you know that your Father and I love you very much but we do wish that you would a little more Lady-like at the best of times. Times such as today. So I do not want you doing anything to embarrass yourself or this family. Now I have seen you at banquets and I implore that you eat in a more dignified manner. And sit straight while you do so. And for goodness sake, keep your shoes on for the entire night this time!"

"They pinch," Marian muttered.

"They are supposed to!" her Mother said, annoyed at being interrupted. "And never interrupt your elders when they are speaking. It shows disrespect." And it continued. Marian was sure that this talk doubled the time it had taken to get ready.

"My lady," Amelia interrupted politely and Marian sent her the most thankful look possible. "I think it is time to proceed to the banquet hall."

"Of course." And with one last look at Marian she left. This look portrayed a lot. It warned her that if she put one toe out of line, there would be consequences.

The moment her Mother left the room, Marian raced to the mirror and began to pull at sections of hair, hoping to loosen the pain. It was futile. And success would be punished. Amelia pulled her gently from the mirror. "You will be fine love," she said as she tucked back the one strand of hair that Marian had successfully pulled out. "It is just one day." She then pulled Marian into a deep hug. She then added, "and while you are seated, no one can see your feet. So feel free to slip your shoes off if you can be clever about it."

And so the horrid event began. First the greetings, where Marian had to pretend to take interest and show thanks to everyone who had come. She had always struggled with names and gained many a glare from her Mother upon saying a wrong name. This was to be followed by the banquet and other boring forms of interaction, which she hated. The only moment she enjoyed was when Robin and I appeared. Her Mother quickly shoved us along, not wanted us to bring out the real Marian. Annie was in her element, loving being around her true people. There was many a time that Marian wondered if her Mother favoured Annie over as a daughter. She then spent a great deal of the afternoon daydreaming over the idea that her and Annie had been switched at birth. It was not the most wild of ideas. Both had long golden curls and blue eyes. But that is where the similarities stopped. Annie's constant sneer that she wore seemed to affect her entire face and every feature sharpened. She tried hard to appear beautiful and some would consider her so. But she was nothing compared to Marian. Their mannerisms were also vastly different. Annie's reflected Marian's Mothers far more. So Marian enjoyed her fantasy, despite her knowing that it could be just that. She liked to imagine me as her blood brother and she fancied the idea of being friends with Robin without the constant disapproval of her parents.

Both Robin and I would have done anything to help her during this banquet. We could see her quickly growing more and more bored and depressed. We knew that things would only worsen when the young Lady Catherine arrived. The pair had been enemies for many a year. To me, I never saw how their competition between the pair. Marian was far more beautiful and had far more status. And yet somehow, Catherine always had a way of making Marian feel horrid by the end of their conversations. Robin tensed when he saw the horrid girl approaching but we both knew there was nothing we could do.

Initially, it seemed that we had nothing to worry about. Both girls greeted each other with civility. It wasn't until later that evening when there was conflict. Around the time everyone began dancing, Catherine took her chance to brag about supposed conquests. "Oh it has been quite a year for me Marian," she said, all the while Marian did her best to edge away but knew that there was no escape. "I have already had three offers for my hand for when I come of age. Three! Can you imagine? Oh I suppose that you can't. From what I hear, your parents are struggling to find anyone who would want to marry you. You poor thing. I heard that they have lowered your dowry to practically nothing! The thought of it all!"

To be fair, Catherine was a few years older than Marian and it was still very early for Marian to receive future marriage requests. And the idea of a lowered dowry was a complete lie. None of us had any doubt that Marian would have no trouble at all finding a husband, even if she continued on her free spirited life style. Everyone but her Mother of course, but no one cared for her anyway. "You know Catherine," Marian said, forgetting to be civil, "It amazes me that you still manage to think and speak at the same time."

"There is no need to be hostile! I only mean to help you. Why, when I was your age, I had already kissed countless boys and received marriage proposals from practically all of them. I only think of you and how you may end up completely alone."

While we all had assured knowledge of the security of Marian, she herself did not and Catherine's words terrified her. "I have no wish to be married," she said, pretending to tire of the conversation. Catherine just laughed a horrid laugh.

And then Marian ran off. We finally had our opening. Robin ran after her and I sought revenge. Faking clumsiness, I ran into a nearby Lord whose goblet of wine went flying all over Catherine's pale ball gown. Her screams were extremely satisfying. "Oh how clumsy of me," I said, apologising to the Lord while blatantly ignoring Catherine. It grew increasingly more difficult to keep a smirk from my face but thankfully I managed.

Robin knew easily where to find her and ran to the previous meeting place. He had to stop twice to retrieve the shoes she thrown off as she ran. When he finally reached her, he said nothing, simply placing her shoes by the three and sitting down beside her again. "I hate balls," she said simply.

"I hate Catherine," he replied and gained a smile from her. "Whatever she told you, it is most definitely a lie."

"How do you know?" Marian asked, clearly not believing him. "She said that everyone wants to marry her. And that she has kissed all of these boys. It is probably true. She is very pretty."

Robin scoffed. "Well, considering that I am a boy, I think I speak for all of us when we say that none of us would go near her."

He was proud of himself as he gained the smallest of laughs. "But what if she is right and no one ever wants to marry me? I am ten now, and I've never kissed anyone."

She glared at Robin as he laughed at her. "I'm sorry," he said, "but you sound ridiculous. Ten is young! I am almost thirteen, have never kissed anyone and do you see me complaining?"

Suddenly her eyes lit up as she gained an idea. Robin quickly wondered if he would regret his words. "Robin," she demanded, "kiss me."

"Are you mad?" he said, wondering if she was joking.

"Quite the opposite. We're friends aren't we? So it wouldn't be so strange. And then I could be better then Catherine!"

"So you are mad," he decided.

"Please Robin! It can be your birthday present to me!"

"I already gave you your present! I worked really hard on that you know." Marian had never been one for begging and Robin knew this. Sighing he deeply, he finally said, "fine! But you are not allowed to start acting strange around me."

"You over estimate yourself!" she joked. But then she was forced to become serious. Neither had been kissed so neither had any idea of what to do. They stared at the other for a short while, hoping for the other to take charge. Finally, Marian shuddered and forced herself to lean forward. Robin tried not to be insulted and closed his eyes at the same moment she did. And then their lips met. They touch was softer than both had expected. The strangeness of the feeling had not been underestimated however and both wondered how long they were expected to stay still. Not long apparently as they practically leapt apart.

"Well that was strange," Marian concluded.

"So strange," Robin agreed.

"So I think we can safely agree to never put each other through that again?"

"Agreed."

I laugh at the thought.

"We best get back soon," he finally said. "Your Mother is most probably having a fit. And besides, we have training tomorrow morning."

Our training is a whole other story

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The beginning of our training occurred many years previous, during that summer when I first met Robin. Back when we were all still so very young. During this time, Marian was at the peek of her spirit and an order to not do something was instantly a demand from her that it had to be done. On that particular morning, Amelia had been ordered to pass on a message to us. "Do what you wish today but do not go near King Richard's chambers." This was a perfectly ordinary order. During the odd time that King Richard visited Nottingham, we were constantly told that the last thing he wanted to see were troublesome children who were always getting in the way. But this time was different. Sensing that something was afoot, Marian hung back, ever so carefully so that Amelia would not notice. Hidden near her doorway, she listened as Amelia happily spoke with the new serving maid Lilly. I urgently attempted to draw Marian away, but not for fear of being caught. The trouble was that Lilly had a way of making me nervous. I wasn't sure why, we had never spoken a word. She was more shy than I could ever be and often went unnoticed about her business, hiding in shadows with her dark skin and dark hair. But Marian knew nothing of this and happily continued to listen. Doing so in silence proved to be a problem. It seemed that Amelia had quite a bit to say about Marian that was not exactly flattering. But thankfully Robin managed to restrain her silently and the conversation turned to the visit of the King. "So I know that he is a good King," Amelia was saying, "but I do wish that he could find other reasons to visit one of his most thriving towns other than to test out possible weapons for a war that he has no business being a part of." I groaned inwardly as Marian's eyes instantly lit up at the idea of secret weapons. With this new light came the knowledge that we would now be forced to break into her quarters. Confirmation came when Marian sprinted away, obviously expecting us to follow.

"I am certainly not coming!" Annie puffed angrily when we finally caught up.

"And yet you're here," I said, not attempting to mask the amusement.

"Well I am just making sure that you forget this madness!" And then she was going through her normal process of pleading with her young cousin in the hopes that she would leave behind any inappropriate behaviour. Robin and I glanced at each other in exasperation over the way she never learnt that Marian would never abandon an idea and would only be more determined if something blocked her path. "We will get caught you know. And then we will all be in trouble, again. Especially now. You know how many guards the King will have? Even you could not possibly sneak past."

Marian sighed, also tired of the pointless speech that she received every day. "Annie do you ever have fun? Ever?"

"Fun is not the kind of things you make me do."

All debating was forced to halt as footsteps approached us. It was almost effortless to dart behind appropriate walls that gave us the benefit of a decent hiding place. Two men were quickly proceeding in the same direction we had been, discussing King Richard. "So we are all set in the great hall?" one was asking.

"Perfectly. I'm telling you, there is no way he can say no. Everyone else may as well stop presenting their weapons now for he can't say no to us."

"You really thing he would want his armies using a weapon that we stole from the people we are fighting against?"

"We didn't steal it! We looked at its design, learnt from it and improved it. I'm telling you, w=by the end of this year, everyone in the Holy Land will be using a Saracen bow. Now stop being foolish and hurry up. And relax for goodness sake."

And then they were gone. None of us waiting for our orders as we knew perfectly well that Marian would momentarily be running of to the great hall. Ro bin and I had no reason to complain. We wished to see this new bow as mush as she did. None of us had so much as held a bow before but we had all been fascinated by the archers we had seen at festivals.

I didn't know it at the time, but the first time Robin held that bow was an extremely monumental moment. He may have been ten at the time, but the bow still suiting him, leaving us wondering how he ever looked normal without it. Marian insisted that he be the one to steal it, seeming as just another bossy act but it was obvious that even she was nervous by what we were doing. Annie seemed close to simply collapsing with panic and was unable to keep her still as it flitted to and fro, waiting for a guard to come and catch us. Robin on the other hand, had never been calmer as something was right as he held that bow.

"Great, we came, we conquered, and lets go!" Annie said, desperately eager to flee. But Marian was far from ready, intrigued at whatever seemed different about Robin.

"I'll wager that you can't make it work," she told him and I saw a spark appear in his eyes. This was the first of many times I would see that. It was the spark of a challenge. A challenge that he was determined to win.

"Name the target," he said, just beginning to form that cocky smile which would haunt me many a time in years to come. That same smile could also be seen beginning to form on Marian. Looking around the room, with a dark smile she pointed toward King Richard's throne. He let out a small laugh at the supposed ease of the task. Annie and I both underwent a dropped jaw as we noted the distance of the throne at the far end of the hall.

"Just give it up," I said in my most calming tone, hoping to persuade Robin away. "You have never used a bow before. The arrow won't even leave the bow." What I failed to remember was that Robin could be just as stubborn as Marian, if not more. Pulling a bow from the quiver that lay beside the bow's stand, he took aim. Once again, seemed different about Robin. I like to think of it as the moment in which his destiny began. For the arrow went flying across the hall. He missed the throne of course, to have not done so would have been sheer absurdity. But the arrow did land on the podium on which the throne sat.

There was a moment of silence as the act sunk in as being true. "Well technically he missed," Annie said spitefully. We all ignored her.

An unknown figure was just as amazed as us. From his viewpoint from a balcony, Sir Wilfred observed one of the greatest feats of archery he had seen from someone of such an age in his entire life. And he had seen many an act. In his younger days, Wilfred had been one of the greatest Knights in the service of King Richard. But age had denoted this and now he was nothing more than a palace guard. But in Robin, he saw potential to be so much more. Finally, he had found the protégé he had always sought for.

He surprised us, coming from the shadows and saying, "do that again, but this time take a breath before your release. Clear your mind and see only the target." Annie let out a small squeal, seeing only the guard uniform and being unable to hear his words. No one minded at all when she fled the room. Robin meanwhile, did as he was told. Marian would have normally hated being ignored for such a period of time but even she had the sense to remain quiet and let Robin concentrate. His pause was long as he let go of his breath slowly. His concentration was unrivalled. This time, the arrow met its mark, flying straight into the throne. And as Annie would say, technically, it did only 'just' hit the throne, with barley an inch to spare. But archery was never some 'magic power' that Robin had been graced with. It was a natural born talent that had been spotted early and expanded with years of training. That training started the very same day.

Our days changed dramatically after that. Wilfred saw great potential in Robin and wished to train with him daily. What he did not realise was that with Robin, came Marian. And without them I had nothing else to do so I came. And Annie came, but only because I suspect that she enjoyed complaining the whole time that we would be caught. For years, we were constantly on archery and swordplay under Wilfred's wise guidance. Everyone but Annie of course. This training was not as fun as I initially thought it would be. Robin was an instant success of course. And he also gained extra training that we did not as it was still a requirement for Marian and I to met with our tutors. By the end of the first year, Robin could have easily defeated the majority of the palace guards in battle, despite being over half their age. Such news was not acceptable to Marian. No one was allowed to be better than her in any area which resulted in her working all the harder. I enjoyed knowing the basics and sat back, watching them fight for the title of being the best. Each fight showed slow progression as each became slowly more talented and at the same, extremely more dedicated. I personally suspect however that Robin could have beaten Marian at any point. But he always went a little easier for her. All the while, Annie refused to even hold a sword and chose to sit and yell how bad we were. It was a good system.

Until Marian's parents decided to ruin everything.

.

A few months following Marian's twelve birthday, she did not come to a training session for the first time. It was normal for her to be absent at times when her parents came too close to discovering how we truly spent our days or if she had other things to attend such as added lessons. But she never missed anything without an explanation. We tried to continue on as normal, much to my dismay. You see, whenever Marian was absent, I was forced to fight Robin as a substitute. And he saw no reason to go easy on me.

Aside from the added bruises and pulled muscles, the day continued as normal. Then she did show up for dinner. This was completely unheard of to her Mother but she barley batted an eyelid. "She must still be sulking," she told us. "We decided that she is becoming to wild here in England. It is for her own good that we send her to France, where she can be taught skills that are far more appropriate to a lady of her stature." I did not wait for her to finish before I had bounded from the room to tell Robin. This may have been a mistake, I should have paused to finish my mouthful and had to pause to stop my own choking. But then I was running again, even more determined.

In barley any time, Robin had sprinted to their spot and was trying to act as calm as he could while entering. I decided to give them their space and wandered off alone. She was exactly where he had suspected, leaning against their tree, trying not to cry. She leapt up the instant she saw him, attempting to appear tough. But the look on his face made it obvious that she need not pretend around him. In the next moment she had raced over to him, leaping up to embrace him. "One day, you really will bowl me over," he joked but was hugging her just as tight.

"What am I going to do in France?" she said when she finally released him. "They have ways of making you obey! You should have seen my sister before she went there. She was worse than I ever was and now she is my Mother's dream child and married off to some disgusting Lord who she never sees but she doesn't care because she is happy! What if they do that to me! They will make me happy with misery."

"If there is anyone who can beat them, it will be you. You're the strongest person I know. Even if I let you win in archery and swordplay."

She laughed but there is only so much you can laugh when you are holding back tears. "Promise that you won't forget me."

She had no idea. "Such a thing is completely impossible," he told her honestly. Yet she still seemed uncertain. Turning away from her, he pulled his pocketknife and approached their tree. As she watched, he carved both of their names into the trunk. "There," he said with a flourish, "no we will both be in this very garden forever."

"Why is your name on top?" she joked but was obviously pleased. And then reality sunk back in. "I think I have to go and help pack now."

This was obviously not the case. I waited by the carriage the next morning with the rest of the family, waiting for her to arrive. "She never came back last night," Amelia informed us in an odd tone. It was obvious that she was holding back tears. It always interested me how Amelia acted so much more like a Mother to Marian than her real Mother ever could.

As if on cue, Marian's Mother began tapping her foot impatiently. "If that girl has done anything stupid," she muttered but trailed away when she saw her daughter approaching.

Marian always had to make a statement. Today, she showed everyone how much she obviously needed to leave. For just like on the day they met, both Robin and Marian were drenched in mud.

I hugged her regardless, while we both ignored the yelling that came from the distance. Annie refused but Marian hugged her anyway. The farewell between Marian and her parents interested me. Despite the mud, they held their daughter tight, making me wonder if I had focused on the negatives for far too long. There was love between them that I had previously missed.

With one last hug to Robin, she was gone. Just like that.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

"It was strange," he told me. "I spent most of the night reassuring her that I would never forget her. But it will be the other way around."

.

He needn't have worried.

Within five years she would return.

Shortly after her return, they would be engaged.

What he should have been worried about was the time after that. For it would be shortly after their engagement that he would lose her.


	2. The Gang

Let us skip a few years. To the year 1190. Our second year of being outlaws.

Do not fret, I shall return to the events in between. For now, you need only know this, we are Robin Hood and the Merry Men, fighting against injustice at the hands of our new ruler, Prince John.

.

Sherwood Forest. Many call it mighty and majestic. We simply call it home. No matter what could possibly occur in my life, Sherwood will forever be considered my one true home. There is no place in all of England in which I can feel so at peace, despite the constant fight, pain and misery that tended to occur, For, once these moments passed, there was much happiness. And laughter. For I was around my true friends.

A new year brought about new promise. The sun rose of a peaceful forest. Only a small sprinkling of frost remained, despite the cold. This suited me fine. I had never faired well to the cold. But even I could not deny the beauty that it brought with it. Few of my precious green leaves about the trees survived the season but the few that could, positively sparkled. The crunch of underfoot brought about that wonderful feeling. The feeling of a good deed being done. For even in the cold of winter, we continued on in our quest to steal from the rich and give to the poor.

I still hate winter. The main reason of which the beginning of the year 1190 remains in my head was the uncharacteristically short winter. One strolling about Sherwood would never suspect the true time judging simply by sight.

On this particular morning, Sherwood was disturbed from the peaceful lull of the early morning by the sudden interruption of a carriage racing past. The sound of the wheels spinning was only deafened by the voice of the driver, yelling for the horses to go even faster. Two guards had been placed on the back ledge of the said carriage and they were clearly holding on for dear life. Not a thought was spared for them. Nor for the driver or the horses. For the carriage's inhabitant was a man named Sir Frederick and he was the typical example of rich and greedy Norman. Only one thing passed through his mind: the infamous Robin Hood.

It seemed that our legend preceded us. Little more than a name had created upmost terror in a man who had never laid eyes on an outlaw. This was soon to change.

Only one thing could overcome such fear in such a man. And that was love. And not the love we would all like to believe. The only love that kind of man was capable of is love of wealth. This should surprise no one. His only reason for the journey for Nottingham was to do with taxes as he had business with the Sheriff. The nature of this visit was never of interest. The only aspect of interest was the result. And the result, was a considerable amount of gold. This gold could help many a starving family. That was where we came in.

"Faster you fool," he yelled again and the driver obliged. It was obvious that nerves surpassed him if shaking hands were anything to judge by. They were sweaty too but he refused to rub them on his new coat, another example of the frivolous greed of the rich.

All thoughts rushed from his mind when he noticed the carriage slowing. "Did you not hear me?" he roared but it was apparent that it was continuing to lose speed until eventually them came to a complete stop.

Fredrick assumed the worst as he fumbled for the door. He drew himself to his full height as he stumbled out, hoping to intimidate any immediate threat. Initially, there was nothing. Only the restored peace of Sherwood. Looking back he saw his two guards. The ones he had instructed to be ready at any cost. They were tied to each other and gagged with a look of fear in their eyes. His driver too was bound and scared, still sitting in the driving seat. Fredrick quickly spun around, doing anything to find his attacker. The forest was eerily silent and seemingly abandoned.

I thought it would be rude to keep him waiting for a second longer, although I was rather enjoying watching his panic from above. With ease I swung down and gracefully leapt to the forest floor. The man's eyes widened in fear. "Who are you?" he whispered.

I majestically paused. "I am…Allen A Dale." I like to think that I am slightly intimidating but the look on his face told me otherwise. He slumped in relief and almost smirked at me. I knew that I had never been graced with those rippling muscles that made women sigh and men groan in jealousy. I had however been graced with golden hair that may have originally helped my appearance but now did nothing for appearing intimidating in appropriate situations. So I guess his initial confidence was slightly justified.

He laughed as he told me "you sir, chose the wrong man to mess with. I am a master of sword and am sure that I would best Robin Hood himself."

Were the words expected to fill me with fear? They still make me laugh to this day. Acknowledging him seemed frivolous so I just stared beyond him and waited. He feared to follow my gaze as I said calmly, "Well here is your chance."

For this time when Frederick turned, he unmistakable looked upon the face of Robin Hood.

This was not the same boy I had grown up with. His transformation astounded even me as he grew. One day, he was my childhood best friend. The next, he became the hero. The kind that made terrifying guards into trembling fools and beautiful women swoon. But once again, more on that later.

Frederick meanwhile, became quite the amusing spectacle, fumbling for his sword with the little ounce of movement that his fear allowed him. Robin had to hold back laughter as he watched. I was simply bored. Finally, the poor bloke had his sword in his trembling hand. "Really?" Robin asked. In one word he seemed to say, 'do you really think you can fight me?' He sighed and said, "if you insist," and one swift motion, drew his own sword. The ringing sound form the hilt seemed to echo for miles. I had never seen the eyes of a man become so wide in panic. I considered myself quite the hero as I spared him the fight, stooping to pick a rock form the forest floor and hitting as hard as I could on the back of the head.

"Quite a brave man really," Robin noted, putting his sword back in its sheave.

"The best today," I agreed at I jumped into the carriage to retrieve our spoils.

Robin of course would never dream of helping. Somehow, in the years of his transformation, he had gained an intolerable ego. This ego became almost unbearable at many a time. Times like now, when he considered himself so high above me that it would be impossible for his to help. Well, it could be that. There was also the chance that he was far too deep in thought to notice. This happened a lot. Whatever the reason, he remained outside of the carriage, leaning slightly on the high point of his bow, as he thought aloud, "You know, sometimes I wish for a decent fight. Nothing to the death of course, but at least something for a little excitement."

I shook my head at my friend. One day, that ego of his would get him killed. He was never one who was happy in peace. He longed for the fight. And as we have learnt, this attitude often had disastrous consequences. Letting out an impressed whistle, I called out, "pretty good loot though." It took many a heave to even get the chest to the door of the carriage. My struggle clearly amused Robin. "Well you could help," I grumbled.

It took both of us, moving at practically snail pace, to slowly lug the chest back to camp. All the while, I secretly agreed with Robin as I wished things could become a tad more exciting. We had been outlaws for a whole year at that point and the novelty was beginning to wear off. Much had been accomplished. A gang of trusted men had been formed. Taxes had been stolen back form the Sheriff and rightfully returned back to the people. The ransoms on our heads could change the poorest of families into being richer than the Sheriff himself. But this mattered not, for no one would dream of turning us in. The people positively loved us.

But the initial excitement over what we were doing was fading. I had obviously forgotten the term 'be careful what you wish for.' In the years to come, I would many a time wish for the simple times of how we believed that a few stolen taxes could save England. Little did I know that things were about to change.

.

We were the last ones back to camp, an oddity in itself. Whenever tasks paired or grouped me with Robin, I knew that the results would reflect. What we lacked in time, we made up for in spoils of course. Little John initially thought to brag, thinking himself the unnamed champion of the day. All thought of that was gone when he saw what we carried. I was happy to wipe the smirk from his face, asking "how much did you get then Little John?"

He threw a small pouch at Robin's feet, glaring at me all the while. "Well isn't that adorable?" I said happily.

"Let me carry that for," he said in the gruff voice, easily lifting the trunk that Robin and I had struggled over for a great portion of the morning. This act would not have sounded so impressive if one knew Little John like we did. For he was little more than a giant. He was almost seven foot tall, and wide to boot. Not in fat, as I like to say but in muscle. This, accompanied with scraggily dark hair and beard made for quite an intimidating man. The true secret of Little John was how misleading his appearance was. In all honesty, he was probably the most docile of us all. Save for the times when he was angered. During these time, he easily lived up to his reputation, and became far worse. But we felt safe, knowing that these times only came when someone he cared for was in danger. And as much as he hated to admit it, he cared for us. Therefore, we saw the kind and gentle Little John a lot more than the angered giant.

I may have silenced John's bragging momentarily but there were plenty more Merry Men to take his place in this action. Much was the next to think himself great. "Luke and I were the first ones back!" he said proudly. Such an act was another oddity around camp. Much was not normally the best at things to say the least. It was not from lack of trying. The little runt was just all too easy to make fun of. The trouble was, it was all too easy to make fun of the little man.

Luke liked to say "there is not much to our Much," and this is rather true. Never before had I seen such a small man. And he enjoyed complaining. A lot. It took much restraint to hold ones self back when he was in one of those moods. But somehow, we made it through. It helped to focus on the idea that eh was in fact a good man, beneath that annoying exterior.

"It was only because I could not bear to be around him a moment longer," Luke retaliated to Much, causing much laughter around camp. This was perfectly in character for him, always the dark joker.

"Laugh all you want" Much yelled at everyone "you're all just jealous that I beat you for once. Whose pathetic now aye?"

"Still you" Luke said. Always the joker.

An outsider would have panicked as what appeared to be another Luke stepped towards us. "Everyone stop your cruelty and come eat," he called. These words always had a positive effect around camp.

"At least one brother is nice," Much muttered. He spoke the truth. Despite twins, Mark and Luke were extremely different, uniting only in their love of helping others. Luke would never admit to this though, claiming to be in the Merry Men for the adventure of it all. Having twins in the ranks served us well in those early days. It took many a month before the Sheriff noticed that they were not the same man. Both had dark brown hair and dark beards, all worn in the same style. They enjoyed looking the same. We did not. Especially in early days of attempting to tell them apart.

And so followed the usual meal routine that ended in a near battle every day. The goal, obtain the largest portion of food.

"I'm bigger than all of you so I need to eat more" Little John said as he swooped in the grab the plate. Whether he ate more or not, he seemed to grow regardless.

"Growing bones need more food" Benny said as he swiped it. Whether he ate more or not, the opposite happened. Benny was our youngest member, barley over seventeen years of age and the only Merry Men he was superior too in height was Much. We all anxiously awaited he day he would be required to shave.

"Growing bones are easily broken" John said menacingly and the lad quickly gave him back the plate. I may have stated that John was mellow, but food was one of his weak points and we all knew better than to cross it. We still tried.

All off the commotion did well in re-waking Thomas, who grunted out, "I need it. I'm sick." No one paid any heed to him. There was nothing natural about his so-called 'sickness.' Night after night he could be found at his beloved tavern, drinking way more than his fill. The trouble was, when he was in a normal state, he was a skilled fighter. And his heart was in the right place. If he took the time to cut that greasy brown hair and trim the horrid beard, he would appear halfway decent and be taken seriously. Something about him told the world that he had no wish to be taken so. So his comment was ignored. And he was far too feeling nauseous to actually fight anyone for something that he didn't really wish for.

Luke tried his best to simply snatch without any form of excuse. Matthew was faster. Saving the plate he called over, "come and eat Will! You have no need to train this early."

Such words had no effect on Will. Mornings were for training. Helping the poor was considering training. Everything was training. All in an effort to kill the Sheriff. The man who had killed his Father. "No time," he said simply. And once again his sword was flying, attacking with a mad passion. His poor partner had a different view. Roger only participated in such antics as he thoroughly disliked spending more time around us than he had to. The reason for why he joined the Merry Men was never extremely clear. I suppose that he had the same spark in all of us that demanded we care about others. He was now faced with the two things he hated most, facing injury against an overly determined Will, or spending time with us. For once, we won. But it was a hollow victory. He saw in silence, clearly bored and uncomfortable. The little hair he possessed was smothered down with sweat and the day had barley begun. You see, he was always thoroughly ashamed at his bright red hair and trimmed it as short as possible. This only succeeded in making it stand out all the more.

As you can see, the Merry Men were a rather impressive bunch.

Robin and I had far better things to do. Though Robin's ego often made him just as proud as every other man present, he was a leader when it counted. And plans were to be made. And when there were plans needed, I was needed. I did mention that I had the thinking powers that no other possessed. So times called for us to think of the night ahead. We needed nothing fancy at that time. There was plenty of loot from the day that had to be passed around where it was truly needed. Looking over my records, I could see the villages and the time frames of our last visits. It was obvious that Locksley needed us the most. Between the pair of us, we had different routes planned as we divvied out the areas.

From what we could see, lunch had been a rather peaceful ordeal. Little John had scared them in line and everyone seemed to have finished with minimal injury. Thomas was the only one who had ended up too close for John's liking and now nursed a quickly forming bruise. "Right lads," Robin said and everyone was instantly at attention. It never failed to amaze me to see the transformation of the group when Robin commanded them. Everyone went from a bunch of confused fools so those fearless outlaws, praised around England. "Everyone partner up. The North side is where most of the houses are so I suppose that two pairs best work together there. The others can have a point each. There shouldn't be too many guards tonight so I don't want so see a single injury." He was looking at Much as he said this. We all were.

"Now, kindly don't rush all at once to partner with me," Much said, mocking himself, but only slightly. Everyone rushed in the opposite direction. And I do mean rush. There was quite a scramble. I considered years of friendship and loyalty to take precedence and knew that Robin would most likely pair with me. This wish had nothing to do with Much. I am not too cowardly to admit that I am one of the less skilled members of the Merry Men. If I had not been Robin's friend, I dare say that I would not have joined. Therefore, there is a definite safety quality in being close to someone so skilled. There was little more than a small nod between Matthew and Luke and it was obvious that they were in a pair. Roger appeared to have forgiven Will over the particularly rough training of the morning and stood beside him. Once Thomas snatched Benny's wrist, Little John knew it was over. He was now partnered with Much. He groaned in defeat as everyone else triumphantly rose and prepared all that was needed.

Locksley was everyone's favorite village. It's where most of the men grew up and most still has family there. When we went to Locksley it my understanding that John and Much had an agreement. "We go in together and then split. I don't care where you go but keep your mouth shut and I won't insult you for a week."

"Make it a month" Much tried to banter.

"A week" John said, looking as menacingly as he could manage.

"A week it is" Much agreed and ran off as fast as he could.

And then John was alone to walk about the village he had once called home. He took his time as he wandered about. Having been given the East area, all drop offs were made very quickly. Much knew the ones John wished for him to do which meant for even less work for John. All the while, he enjoyed the memoires of those happier times.

Being one of the older Merry Men, John could remember well the reign of King Henry, Father of King Richard and Prince John. He recalled sitting in the very spot he walked past now and seeing him for the first time. Quite a crowd had gathered to see how their King had honoured their small town with such a visit. But John had others things on his mind. Initially, these were thoughts of his Father, Walter Little. This man never had a thought for things of ambition. There had been love between the pair but not as much as he would have liked. The Locksley graveyard appeared in plain view and John wondered if he should stop to honour his Father. But there were other things for him to do on that night. He paused for a moment and muttered a silent prayer in respect for his Father's soul. No tears were spilt but respect was always plentiful.

Moving on, he reached the town well, an area that held far more significance for him. As he passed, he stooped down to pick up and forgotten doll. It was good to see that this place still catered to young children's playtime. John hoped that it was more innocent play than his own childhood. Shrill screams of children filled his memories as he saw a group of young boys running amuck, encouraged by a few girls who sat giggling to the side. Their target was a young girl of seven. Even then, she was larger than the other children. This was not why they teased her. Children were fickle you see, and a certain image of beauty had been long since pressed in their minds. This girl did not fit the standard. To these children, she was plain ugly and they let her know, mainly with words but there was always the occasional stone of stick. John never saw that. He saw the most beautiful girl in the world.

Even back then, John had been tall for his age. And still extremely intimidating. With a stick in his hand, he stormed over to the children, intent on the lesson that was about to be taught. Fear was apparent in their faces as John put on the angriest face he could muster and shouted, "Leave her alone or face me!" There was no need to tell them twice. Each child bolted away, a few in tears.

The only two remaining were John and the girl. And I think it was fair to say that John had never been more nervous in his life. Words betrayed him as he stood in silence, gazing at her. She made no attempt to talk to him, but rather just stared right back. It wasn't fear, as John was used to. John had come to hate that look. Whenever she deemed to use it, it was near impossible to tell what she was thinking. The poor oaf was still struggling with his next move. He now wondered if he scared her and thought to drop the stick. Looking down at it, he saw that there was still a small stem with a few leaves growing off it. In a feeble attempt to be romantic, he plucked the steam and offered to it. She meanwhile, was trying to figure out if he was being cruel to her. She was not used to this sort of treatment. She gingerly took the stem from his and couldn't hold back the giggling any longer. She felt so grown up and loved it. Happily, she put the stem behind her hair, thinking to decorate her hair. John chuckled in response and he and Amelia were quickly friends.

Walking a little further, John saw a tree just beyond the well. He believed it to be the tree from which the stick had fallen. Many years later, while he courted Amelia, he never gave her flowers. Rather, he would pick leaves from this tree and arrange them as delicately as was possible for an oaf like him. She loved them and displayed them with pride, no mater how confused it made others. To her, it was the most romantic gesture possible.

That tree was also where he had proposed. Having barley gotten the question verbalized, Amelia had leapt at his in an embrace with such force, that it had sent the two flying backwards onto the ground. John had managed to hit his head rather hard on the trunk of the tree, forcing Amelia to accept his proposal much later, when he regained conciseness. This made her the only person to have successfully defeated Little John in such a manner.

John lingered by the tree, wanting to stay where the good memories remained. But the walk had to continue.

The tavern may have been a happy place for Merry Men such as Thomas but John had never liked to go there. He had always hated the effect that drink had on an average man.

He remembered walking home one night, hoping to surprise Amelia for her birthday. The tavern door had slammed open and three guards staggered out. One had been one of those children who had long ago taunted Amelia. The others were new drunken idiots. John had walked on, sighing at the obvious low standard that was enforced when hiring new guards for the palace.

But something had stopped him. That something was a young woman that the guards were dragging along with them. Any fool could see that she was struggling and clearly terrified. But thanks to the influence of too much ale, the guards took little notice of her cries and laughed off what they did notice.

A nearby house was being rebuilt at the time and John reached for a large chunk of wood as he approached them. "I think the lady wants to be left alone," he said, politely enough but his tone should have shown the men that he meant business.

But they still laughed. "Get out of the way you bastard," one said, glaring at John.

"Yeah!" agreed the second. "The lady clearly wants to come with us, don't you love?"

She screamed in response and he covered her mouth with his hand.

"Just because your own wife is hideous, it doesn't mean that you get to spoil our fun!" The third said, showing John that he had clearly not changed since childhood.

John didn't give them time to respond, rather swinging his weapon and sending the third man flying. "Duck!" he said to the woman who obliged quickly. The man holding her was not quick enough and he was forced to let go of her to nurse the strong blood flow running from his nose. Another blow from John saw the man sprawled on the ground by his friend.

The remaining man called out and John thought nothing of it. All his attention was on making the third man suffer.

What poor John didn't realise, was that this day was the recruiting of many new guards for the palace who had chosen to celebrate together. Alerted to the trouble of one of their own, John was quickly surrounded by about twenty men. He could have fought them, but then they each pulled out swords. John's plank was no match.

The next place on John's memory walk was the town square. This was where he had been sentenced.

He had barley heard the words of the current Sheriff as he listed his crimes. He was too busy watching Amelia, clearly heartbroken and sobbing.

Certain words were impossible to hear. Murder being the main one. He had never meant to hit the men so hard. John had always found it hard to control his strength when he became angry.

Naturally the other guards present had lied on behalf of their friend. They said that John had attacked blindly with no motive. That the lady had been going willingly with the men and they had barley looked at John before he savagely attacked them in cold blood.

The next events were a blur. John remembered running. He wasn't sure how he had broken free but he knew that he had to get out of there. As much as he liked to deny it, fear had controlled him. He still wondered if Amelia had believed the claims made against him.

In all his years of being an outlaw, he had never had the courage to see her. Instead, he stole, leaving whatever spoils he had on her doorstep.

But each night in Locksley, he fought the same inner battle.

The need to see her again.

Finally he was at the house. Their house.

_Tonight would be the night_, he promised himself over and over again

But tradition took precedence as his fear owned him.

As long as he never saw her, John could pretend that she would be happy to see him.

Leaving money by the door, he turn to sneak away.

His plan was foiled when he turned to see her standing behind him.

Then followed what must have been the most awkward silence of his life. Her tears eventually broke it.

"Um, Sorry…I was um…well…I should go." He managed to sputter out and turned to leave.

To his surprise she stopped him. Continuing his surprise she kissed him.


	3. The Journey that is Much

Meanwhile Much was struggling without a partner. "I'll show them," he muttered to himself. He grew rather tired of constantly needed a partner. The idiot always had this delusion that he was actually talented. His task had been one small section of Locksley. There were plenty of shadows and minimal guards. Only Much could find difficulty in such a task, even on his own. His only hard task was avoiding the guards and he was rather good at avoiding people. The one positive quality that the man possessed was stealth. So he easily made it around his assigned houses without being seen.

Any sane person would have returned to the sanctity of our meeting point but Much didn't feel the need. It was at times like these when he wished he had a ladylove to steal away into the early hours of the morning. Or even friends outside of the gang. He considered visiting home, but he never particularly liked his family. Sherwood wasn't the only place where people liked to tease him.

He was always the runt. No matter where he was. Add on the four handsome, smart, brave, tall brothers that Much was stuck with and you can see why he never liked his childhood. So he decided to miss the family reunion. They would only laugh at him. Even in his proudest moment, none of them had believed his bravery and continued to laugh.

But at least that moment of bravery had freed him from his family and resulted in living a life of freedom.

Much's Father owned a mill but Much was never one for hard work. Still he picked a great day to decide to work late. A year ago, his brothers were all busy with lady friends or normal friends and other important things that he didn't possess. So you cant exactly say that Much 'chose' to stay late. But the point is that he was there. So there he was, staying late in the mill trying to lug very heavy bags of flour around. Well, in his opinion they were heavy. He's always been a bit of a weakling. Robin had been given a tip that Prince John was smuggling gold through the Locksley mill so he went to inspect the possibility.

He gave Much the fright of his life, leaping down from the rafters. Robin observed his opponent, taking in the shaggy blonde hair, miniscule stature and slightly pudgy stomach and felt secure at the lack of threat.

"I don't wish to trouble you sir," Robin had said, being very polite as per usual, "but I do require that you stop being a traitor to your own people and hand over any gold that you are hiding for the traitor, Prince John."

So as you can tell Much was quite confused. All he was holding was a bag of flour and the famous Robin Hood was asking him for gold.

Quickly thinking of something to say that wouldn't get him killed he sputtered, "I assure you sir, there is only flour in here."

But being Robin Hood, he didn't believe him.

"Kindly stop wasting my time and hand over the gold, there's no need for violence"

By now Much was starting to panic. There was no weapon for him in sight and even if there were it wouldn't do him much use. He had no idea what he was doing.

Some say Much's next act was bravery, some say stupidity.

I prefer stupidity.

Without thinking, he threw the entire contents of the bag of flour in Robin's face.

I don't think that Much had ever been so scared in his entire life.

To his surprise, Robin started laughing. He didn't know what to make out of it. He had heard so many stories about the mighty Robin Hood, slaughtering guards by the dozens. It had to be explained to him that these were over exaggerations. Robin never kills unless he has to.

But Much didn't know that at the time and was quickly trying to think of the best way to plead for his life. All he could do was stand there frozen.

He was further amazed when Robin told him, "you've got guts. I'll take your word about the flour". Or something along those lines at least. Robin was choking on all the flour in his mouth by that point.

Much ran into family while running to the well to get him some water.

"You'll never believe it. I was guarding the mill when Robin Hood showed up and he wanted to fight and I was ready but than I didn't have a weapon so I couldn't so I just threw a whole bag of flour in his face and he was impressed but now he's choking and I've got to get him some water!" Much said, at great speed and without pause. Stopping to catch breath, he waited for expected praise.

And then they all laughed.

"Much you shouldn't be drinking so much ale when you're working" his father said as he wiped tears from his eyes.

Their laughter disappeared when they got home to find Robin, still choking.

Much had forgotten about the water.

Thankfully, a brother snapped in action and supplied Robin with the desperately required water.

When Robin left he once again commended Much on his bravery.

The look on all his brother's faces was one I think Much shall cherish forever.

It then struck him that he couldn't let Robin leave without him. This event would soon be forgotten and he would go straight back to being the disappointment of the family. Robin Hood himself had commended him and surely would not turn him away from joining his gang. Much thought that is he was in a gang of England's most famous outlaws, none of his brothers could look down on him again.

So he ran after Robin. And he didn't run often.

Robin was nearly out of the village but he caught him. It did however take him quite a while to regain his breath so he could finally talk to him, but managed to sputter out that he wanted to join the gang.

Robin looked at him, very amused. "Ok, I'll try you, but I warn you. In my gang we do a lot of running."

Much tried not to groan.

Robin continued "I think we'll start training you now. To get back to camp you'll have to run as I only have one horse."

And so his torture began.

And so did ours, as we had to listen to the complaining about the torture.

I continues now. Even when he is alone, Much could still be found complaining, currently about Little John and his abandonment.

He was so busy complaining, he never had time to notice the approaching guards.

Is it any wonder that he got stabbed?


	4. Capture

And that is how Much died. By his standard at least. To the rest of the world, the story goes that he became too close to a sword and gained a gash on his arm. It was barley a scratch but from the way he carried on, you would presume that blood was gushing from every inch of his body. The little guy seemed ready to give his last will testament as he came rushing up to our checkpoint, waving his arm about to show off the small amount of blood that remained. "They got me!" he puffed dramatically. "I feel weak! So, so weak. You can't imagine the pain."

Apparently there could always be more pain. Roger had never enjoyed loud noises and hit Much, hard in the shoulder. "Calm down," he said, clearly not interested in the slightest.

So no, Much didn't die. He could never do something so exciting. "Leave it off," Luke told him, "honestly, it's nothing."

"Nothing?" Much scoffed. Sinking to the ground, the moaning continued. "I'm going to remember that. I could be dying but as long as you consider it to be nothing, that's just great."

"How can you possibly remember it if you're dead?" Roger said with a laugh.

"Well I'm certainly not carrying him back," Luke said, followed by a murmuring of agreement all around. It wasn't that we were unhelpful. It was just that we had no wish to help someone who considered a small scratch to be the end of the world.

"Fine!" he said, continuing the dramatic tone. "Go ahead and leave me! I suppose that I deserve it. I mean, being a good friend is rather terrible. Putting up with all of the horrid things you say to me should definitely be punished. So, I mean it, go. Let me die here!"

Matthew sighed. He knew how to get Much to hurry home. "The Locksley butcher was extremely grateful tonight. He gave me some venison. I was going to cook it when we got back to camp."

Much was on his feet the moment he heard the word 'venison.' "You know, I'm tough. Pain is but a word."

"Thought so," Matthew said with a smile.

It seemed that Much spoke with more truth than we had imagined. He swayed slightly as he rose and seemed dazed for a moment. He was lucky that Benny was close by to stabilize him. Robin was instantly alert as the leader in him took charge. "Luke, do us a favour? Make sure that he'll live."

The look on Luke's face made it clear that there was many a thing he would rather do. Be stabbed himself for example. But being the only Merry Man with any medical training came with both benefits and sacrifices. This seemed a mighty sacrifice by the way he dragged himself over to Much. So did his pained expression. The only spurring him on was the expression on Robin's face. The one that demanded he be obeyed.

"It's a scratch," he concluded. "But it is a deep one. And I suppose that it is bleeding more than would be idea."

"I'm sorry, are you saying that there is an ideal amount that one should bleed?" Much asked. Luke paid him no heed.

"Can you stitch it up?" Robin asked.

Much was beginning to see the bright side. "Stitched up aye? Like with scars? The kind of impressive scar I will have for ages." He nodded his head in approval. "I will look brilliant won't I? With my many battle scars."

"Well all have them idiot," Luke said but now it was Much who ignored the other. So he turned back to Robin, "do I have to?" He knew perfectly well that he sounded like a child but he didn't care.

"Fine," Robin said, clearly not in the mood for his pride. "Can anyone take him to Pete's?"

Luke rolled his eyes at such a comment. "Sure, let's parade over there at this time, wake the sleeping giant and expect his help." The sarcasm was rather unnecessary but it got his point across. Old Pete was a rather interesting man. Both he and Luke were similar in the way that they had a deep hatred of people. Yet for some unknown reason, they chose to dedicate their lives to helping people anyway. Logic was never their strong point. Pete was the only person who Luke would willingly spend time with and vise versa. I suppose that their mutual distain for others broke the age gap. We all knew that this bond would be the only thing that would allow us to wake Pete without fearing for our lives.

"I'll take him," Matthew said, continuing to keep the peace. We all knew that Luke still had no choice.

"Come on you bricon," Luke said to Much, who was still moaning about the supposed agony.

The rest of us headed back to camp, congratulating each other on a night well done. Only one stab wound and one member missing. But John would surely turn up. We hoped.

They weren't gone long. The peace of camp was quickly forgotten as the three of them came running back at a mad pace. Well, two of them maintained the mad pace. Much took his time as he huffed his way through the entrance. His recovery time was shorter than normal as he managed to say, "John was with a woman!"

My mouth, among with many of the other members mouths, fell open. "A real woman?" Benny asked in shock "are you sure it wasn't just him, he is rather big you know and sometimes his muscle can be mistaken for an extra person."

We all gave him the 'be quiet' look and he obliged.

"Are you sure it was our Little John" I asked "and not some other giant?"

Now I got the 'be quiet' look. "Well I didn't expect he would be the only one of us with any luck with women."

Robin saw the conversation turning to romance and quickly excused himself, mumbling something about checking his arrows or something. I sighed as he left, knowing full well what would follow. Suspicion. The Merry Men may have been a band of English heroes, but they were also terrible gossips. It took no genius to see that Robin could have any woman he set his eyes on. He was Robin Hood for goodness sake. He had looks, courage, bravery and the gang had witnessed many a woman expressing interest. We had all been together for a year now and not once had anyone seen Robin in a single romantic entanglement. They hadn't seen what I had seen.

The others had no clue. Suspicion was already under way. Thomas raised his eyebrows at the others as Robin wandered off. "Well, there he goes again," he said, with a little sideways smirk.

"Oh don't start this again," Will said, also wandering off. He had no wish for idle gossip, thankfully. He was one of the few.

"What?" Thomas retaliated, holding up his hands in mock confusion. "You know that he is hiding something!" he called out. Instantly his hands were covering his mouth as he realised the volume of which he had spoken. The door to Robin's cabin remained still. There was only a moment of relieved silence before more talk followed.

"You know, for once, I may agree with Thomas," Benny said, slightly astonished at the action of agreeing with such a man. Thomas gained a satisfied smirk that we all ignored. "Well, he could have any woman he wants! We've seen it, haven't we? Honestly they can't get enough of him."

"Do I hear a bit of jealousy there?" Luke asked, smirking a little himself. Matthew came to Benny's rescue, hitting Luke across the back of the head, with an order of silence.

Now Much may have been lacking common thought in many a situation, but here, he may have possessed a slight amount of logic. For he, unlike the others, saw that only person knew Robin better than he seemed to know himself. "Allen," he said suddenly, "you would tell us if you knew anything wouldn't you?"

I tried my best not to glare at him. Previously, I had done well avoiding these situations. "Honestly. If there one thing I have found about you, it's that you all talk too much. Surely you have something better to do."

Much squinted slightly as he stared at me. "Why didn't you answer the question?" he said. Everyone around, even Will and Roger seemed to listen in a little more than before, though they pretended to appear uninterested.

"Because there is nothing to tell," I said simply, gathering some dirty plates, aiming to appear busy.

Much was not normally the one with bright ideas. So when he saw his suspicion actually leading somewhere, he refused to leave well enough alone. "So nothing? No small tidbit. No…"

"No, nothing," I said, with more force than intended. Robin wasn't the only one who didn't want to remember.

Much held up his hands in surrender. Thankfully, Matthew saw fit to change the subject. "So, instead of sitting around with pointless conversation, shouldn't we be thinking of the best way to punish John for sneaking about?" The gang seemed to accept this and plans were instantly thrown about.

But not everyone seemed interested by such activities. Thomas seemed to tire quickly and wandered away. His cabin was clearly not his destination, but rather the exit. "Can't we have one night without anyone sneaking around?" I called after him. My words were pointless and I knew it. I had about as much authority as a rock with these men.

"I'm not sneaking, I am leaving in plain sight," he called back. "The night is young my friend and I'm off to the tavern." This was only to be expected as an answer.

"The night is hardly young, it is almost morning and-"

"Yes, whatever" he said as he ignored me and walked off.

I knew better than to try and stop him. We all did. It was just better to let him come and go as he pleased. Yes, he would be a tired, sick and angry fool in the morning. But experience had taught him well and somehow, he pushed this all away when trouble was near. It wasn't that he disliked spending time with us. As one of the more sociable members of the gang, it seemed only fit that he enjoy being in our presence. But that was what the day times were for. Nights were his. And there was just something about the tavern that made him feel at home. I suppose that it was the same way I felt about Sherwood. There was definitely some appeal, though I myself struggled to see it. One could always hear the Locksley tavern, no matter where you were in the village. It was an odd mixture of loud rambling speech, out of tune song and general boisterous merriment. One could follow this hubbub to the shambled building, which was only slightly falling to pieces. To push open that broken door was to welcome in the chaos. People were everywhere, drinking, talking, singing, fighting and anything else that took their fancy. They had one thing in common. From the lowliest of drunks to the angriest of fighters. Each was having the time of their lives. There were of course the multitudes of emotions present. But they were all temporary. Outside the tavern, there was constant pain and misery. Each person was forced to return home to his or her starving family sooner or later. I suppose that is where the appeal came from. For one night, problems could be forgotten and one could smile again. I still steered clear. Thomas on the other hand, had found his people, namely Martha.

The main word that described Martha would be bright, and not just because of her bright red hair. It was because of the way that you knew when she entered a room. The woman was loud. And confident, fun and spirited. But mostly loud. She took nonsense from no one, which helped, considering her profession of owning the tavern. When we first met, I worried about her being in such a rough profession. Surely drunken men would easily take advantage of her. But despite her lack of training with ay weapon, Martha could easily defend herself with little more than that booming voice. Folk knew not to mess with her. She was also knowledgeable. She once told me, "There is no such thing as a honest man. But the one time you can get close to one, is when he drinks." And she used this idea. There was no secret in Locksley that she did not know first. This particular skill was what Thomas wished to use on that night.

Martha had his ale ready before he could even give a request. "You know me well darlin,'" he said as he scooped it up in one fluid motion. Not a drop was spilt. It appears that practice truly does make perfect.

"It's my job to know you drunken sods well. So what brings you here in these wee hours of the morning?"

Leaning over the bar toward her, he said, "I need information."

This was her favourite answer. She too leant on the bar, mockingly gaining a false serious tone. "What's the topic?"

He paused, wishing to add some tension. "Little John's secret woman."

She sighed and jumped back behind the bar, obviously disappointed. "And here I was thinking you would be interesting." She had always been a blunt woman. When someone no one longer held her attention, she moved on. Hence she moved down slightly at the request of some drunkard, wishing for another pitcher.

Thomas followed, rather indignant. "When I am ever not interesting? This is a secret woman!"

Scoffing, she said, "secret? Oh love. She's his wife. You fool."

Thomas seemed completely and utterly shocked, stock still on the spot. "John convinced some poor woman to marry him? What kind of sorcery was it?" Finally able to move once more, he ran after Martha. "Just once, I would like to know something before you do."

"Never going to happen," she told him happily as she gather mugs from a nearby table. "But I suppose that I had better enlighten you. Amelia and John were married around fifteen years ago. But they had been friends long before that." All the while, she continued to hustle about, cleaning and serving as she went. Poor Thomas was forced to run to keep up with her. "She works up at Nottingham castle. Has done so for quite some time. Now I'm sure that even you know the story of how John was outlawed. Well he had to leave Amelia behind. You know, to protect her. Something you would know nothing about. It's called chivalry by the way. Well in this case, it probably wasn't wise. Amelia would have given anything to go with him. She would have run away with him but he never gave her the chance."

"Well apparently the chance could be drawing near," he said with a smirk, knowing full well that he finally knew something she did not.

"Why? Because he finally saw her last night and kissed her?" Martha said with a smile. Thomas' fist quickly hit the table in frustration. "Yes, Little John made a brief stop in here before he headed back to camp. I like him more than you, better manners." Thomas responded only with a large belch. She paused then, only to shake her head and roll her eyes. "Why am I in this business?" she muttered.

"Because you love us," Thomas said smugly. Her eyes still rolled.

Suddenly a scream pierced the night. For once, there was a brief moment of silence around the tavern. Then everyone was heading for the door. Thomas' sword was instantly in his hand as he attempted to push through the crowd. "Move!" Martha roared and there was instantly a path.

Once Thomas reached the door he was instantly leaping back. For he knew that now was not the time to be a hero. The Sheriff of Nottingham stood close by outside. The panic in his eyes made Martha leap into action as she instead went outside to join the crowd of observers. What she saw was a large group of guards, lead by the Sheriff as they dragged a woman across the square. Thomas snatched a cloak from the back a chair and was quickly beside her, hidden behind the hood. His hand was still close to his hilt but one look form Martha reminded him that there was nothing he could do. The Sheriff may not have been the most terrifying of sights. He was getting on in years but was still not to be considered old. He may have considered slightly round but could still use a sword better than many of us. Every aspect of his appearance still spoke of danger. His age showed experience. His size showed wealth, from which came power. His facial expression was what made Thomas fearful. It showed great amusement. He loved every moment of the terror of the poor woman and the every moment of the increasing fear of the villagers.

Martha had but to whisper one word in Thomas' ear to add to that fear. "Amelia."

The crowd around only excited the Sheriff further. Turning to address them he said, "May all those present see exactly what happens to those who converse with outlaws. This woman here has been helping the like of Robin Hood and has been seen with seen with one of his closest men. This shall not be tolerated. She will be hanged as an example to all those who seek to help those who have wronged Prince John."

Amelia turned very white as she heard her fate. Thomas turned white as he thought of how he was going to have to tell John. He was well aware of the term 'shoot the messenger'.

"Martha, are men who are about to die entitled to one last free drink?"

"Take your death like a man," she replied, always the keen businesswoman, hand outstretched for payment, which he begrudgingly paid.

"There is no way I am doing this without liquid courage."


	5. Dudgeon Battle

Chapter five

To say the least, anger was in full swing in Sherwood. There were few times in my life that I had witnessed something as terrifying as John when scorned and the memory still haunts me. Through his years of being an outlaw, John had gained quite the reputation of being this horrifying beast who could send enemies flying. In all truths, he was generally as docile as a newborn kitten. However, that reputation had to come from somewhere. And that just so happened to be the few times when he was unable to control that anger. That, was a sight to see. I dare say that Thomas had never been so petrified as he stood by and tried to inform John of his wives impending doom. "How could you let this happen?" John roared at him "you were right there, you could have saved her!"

All attempts to calm John were fruitless but eventually he stopped yelling and began pacing as he knew that something had to be done. Thank the Lord, Roger had previously had the genius thought to remove John's quarterstaff or I daresay that a few of us would be sporting bruises. All the while, the pacing continued. "We have to go. We have to go now. They could be torturing her. If they kill her I swear I'll…"

"John!" Robin yelled "Calm down! You're emotions are clouding your judgments. You're no good to anyone if you think with your heart. Thomas, did you hear when they were going to hang her?"

"No, but I doubt they'll wait." These words were barley said above a whisper as Thomas practically shook, waiting to see the reaction his words would bring.

"So we must act now!" John yelled. And when I say yell, I mean imagine the yell of a normal person and increase the volume a highly considerable amount.

"This is what the sheriff wants!" Will told John. "He wants you to panic and storm in there without thinking so he can take you down. He will not hang her straight away because he has power over you. He'll want to draw it out so when he does kill her it'll hurt you more and you'll be useless so you're an easy target."

Will quickly regretted his contribution as Robin remembered the fact that Will constantly tried to hide. "Will, don't you have a sister who works in the castle?"

"No," he lied. Everyone say straight through this. The look on Johns face would have broken a man's heart but not Will. He had been through too much in his life and it had created almost an emotion shield in the man. Nothing could break through. "Lilly is the only family I have left. I don't want her to be put in danger."

John looked at Robin in exasperation. This was the part of leadership that Robin hated. That point where he had to vary one members wishes against another when one of them would inevitably be left angry. But someone had to do it.

"Ok Will look," Robin said after careful thought. "We will be very, very careful with Lilly and ensure that no possible harm can come to her. We run rings around the Sheriff and this time will be no different. I promise that he will have no knowledge of her help. But if we do nothing, Amelia is going to die." These were true words but they made little or no impact on Will. No logic would. And you must remember, we were going to do it anyway, no matter what Will said.

I personally believe that Will wants to avoid his sister to avoid remembering anything about his past. Still, I probably would want to forget if I were him.

Will's Father had a reputation of being one of the kindest men that Locksley has ever known. Joseph Scarlet was a prime example of everything that the Merry Men stood for. He went beyond simply caring for his loving family. He cared for the entire village. A simply fisherman by trade, he still found a way to ensure that all starving families were always well fed. And yet he was still looked down upon by many a Norman. In fact, most despised him. Namely the Sheriff. Joseph stood for everything that the Sheriff did not. Things like hope and love were practically poison to the Sheriff and he was quickly looking for ways to destroy his this spirit. When Prince John took the throne, taxes rose and many families began to starve. The Scarlet's were prime examples. Yet Joseph continued to help others. The price for this type of action was quickly apparent. His wife and children were beginning to starve. Suddenly the taxes were aimed at the fishermen's market. In the end, it cost more to sell a single fish than it would have to do nothing. As a result, the Scarlet's were left with no money or food. Joseph could not sit by and watch his family starve.

Helena Scarlet died exactly one month after King Richard left. She had never been strong of health and she had always passed along her food to her children. This did little as her three youngest children died quickly after her, also from starvation. This left only Joseph with his two remaining children, Will and Lilly. And there was no way he would let anything happen to them.

A single loaf of bread. That was all that was needed. It was also all that was needed for Joseph to be caught red-handed.

The sheriff was delighted. An example had to be set, and he had just found his target. Guard burst through that small Locksley house and pulled Joseph away. Lilly's screams filled the room as Will did everything in his power to fight them off. He had no skill back then to say the least. One guard was all that was needed to restrain him so all Will could do was watch as they dragged his Father away.

He was taken to the village square. Lilly and Will too. There he whipped him till blood poured down the square, laughing all the while. Part of Joseph's punishment was to know that his children would be a witness to his pain.

Will was forced to watch his fathers murder, restrained by guards. He kept eye contact with his Father until he died.

Will tried to kill the sheriff that very night.

Unfortunately he had minimal skill with a sword back then. The Sheriff easily bested the poor man. There was not even the beginnings of a fight. Will was defeated in mere moments.

The Sheriff could have killed him easily but apparently he didn't think it would be as much fun. That is how Will got that scar on the side of his face. The sheriff wanted him to be cut for life but didn't bother to do the other cheek. "You're not worth the effort" he laughed and kicked him out with the promise of being outlawed for the rest of my miserable life."

Will sought us out soon after, demanding training.

I hate how after a few month, his skill passed that of my own.

He mentioned a sister on a rare occasion but we knew that he cared for her. But these are desperate times. Sometimes we have to risk one family member to save another.

Lilly didn't seem to mind being used. She was just happy to see Will again. It never ceased to amaze me how much she resembled her brother, no matter how much she denied the fact. I suppose no one enjoys being compared to a sibling much less a female being compared to a brother. Women are sensitive in that way. Despite this, Lilly was still one of those women who cared little for physical appearance. It was obvious that no time at was ever spent worrying about that perfect means of styling ones hair or other pointless forms of beauty. She casually tied back her long black hair daily, often forgetting the simple task of brushing it. Her skin was as dark as her brothers, which suited her fine as she often neglected regular washing habits. In some ways, she was more of a slob than many of the Merry Men, making her current job of maid in Nottingham castle all the more ironic. But she had never been one to hold down a job. Or any life idea for that matter. One thing that always stayed regular was the love of anyone close to her so therefore she overjoyed to see Will.

"It's been too long' she said as she embraced him "why do you never come and see me?"

"Because you forget that I don't like hugs," he said begrudgingly. She quickly directed us to a room where she had laid out guard's uniforms where we hurriedly changed and prepared for the rest of our plan. Lilly was quickly banished by Will to safety with many an instruction of how to protect herself should she be compromised. She simply laughed him off, never being one t see the danger.

"Right" Robin said when we reached the dudgeons. "I'll go with John and try to keep him out of trouble, we'll take the east dungeons. Matthew and Will cover the north side, Thomas, Luke and Roger go South. Much, Allen and Benny can take West. Everyone be at the check point before sunrise."

I tried to ignore the fact of Much and put my best foot forward, taking charge all the while. Much trailed behind as I lead the three of us deeper into the castle. Benny saw this as an insult and instantly began to complain. "Why am I in the middle. The middle is where the weak one goes because there is the least chance of being ambushed. I may not be better than Allen but I am far superior to Much."

"Hey, come back and insult me when you get your first facial hair" Much said with a smirk. It was all too easy to get Benny with comments on his age and he had no comeback. I was simply happy that Benny considers me better than him.

"You are barley any older than me," Benny whispered back angrily but had nothing further to add. "I hate you guys," Benny finally said and both Much and I were stifling laughter.

There was an instant temperature drop when we walked deeper into the dudgeons. The cries of prisoners made my skin crawl. The dungeons are easily the worst place in England. Most of the people in there are people who deserve a day in the stocks at the most. But we were there to find Amelia, not save prisoners, which takes a lot more forward planning to ensure we're not setting free actual criminals.

I was so distracted by my thoughts that I had completely forgotten our purpose and quickly went back to looking for Amelia. And kept on looking. And kept on looking.

"So I guess we can rule out the west wing" Much finally decided.

"We haven't searched all of it. Imagine if she was in the furthest corner and we had given up because we were pretty sure she was somewhere else." I told him.

"But my feet hurt."

"Life must be so hard for you. I mean, sure Amelia is going to die, leaving John heartbroken but your feet are so much more important than all that" I scoffed.

"And I'm hungry."

I just rolled my eyes and ignored him.

There was a short wonderful silence. Benny looked like he wanted to insult Much too but he was probably worried about looking like a spoilt child.

"It's too cold down here" Much whined.

That was it for Benny. He turned to Much, ready to tell him exactly what he thought of him.

This involved many unsavory words that could quite possibly burn through the page if I dared write them.

"Shush" I cut in.

"But…"

"Shush. Listen"

All they heard was silence.

"What are we…?"

"Shush"

"Ok, I'm getting really sick of the…"

"Oh my goodness, There's someone there," I told them in a whisper.

Now they were quiet.

And then a figure jumped out from around the corner and kicked Benny in the head, knocking him out easily. I guess he was wrong about the middle.

I reached for my sword but wasn't fast enough and the man had already knocked me to the floor. Before I lost consciences I heard Much go into combat with them man but I knew he didn't stand a chance.

My last thoughts were about how I really hoped that I would wake up.

.

.

.

I did, obviously, and I had some pretty impressive bruises. Obviously we were last to the checkpoint and everyone was ready to moan, until they saw the bruises.

"We were ambushed," I told them.

"One man, beat all three of you" Will asked, rather amused.

We never like each other, Will and I. He doesn't like me because I was rich and he has a grudge against anyone who has ever had a considerable amount of money. I dislike him because he is an antisocial git who thinks he is better than everyone else.

"He came out of nowhere" Much tried to explain.

"And beat all three of you." Will added again, still trying not to laugh. Apparently my glares only encouraged him.

"Did you find Amelia?" John cut in. Our guilty faces told it all.

"Wait" Luke stopped up and motioned for us to listen. The Sheriff was ringing the church bell in quick groups of three. That bell was always followed by trouble. It's a signal for everyone around Nottingham to gather around the square because there was an impending announcement. His announcements were never good for us. Yet we keep coming back. I guess its better that we know ahead of time. I personally, stand by the idea of no news being good news.

And there he was, Prince John. The man who strikes fear into the heart of thousands. I don't think he's that great. A tall, well built man, blessed with good looks and charm, he could have easily lived a nice life. If he didn't constantly wear that look of distain, he could pass for a kind man. I grew up with a great emphasis on family and was constantly transported around, visiting various family members as my power hungry parents trying to gain connections. As much as I hate to admit it, Prince John is one of the people closest to me on the family tree, being my Mother's cousin by marriage. But I never met him until he returned to England to take the throne. His past was a mystery but his present deemed him an evil bastard. That was all that mattered to me.

"My beloved subjects," he said with his usual dramatic flair. We all rolled our eyes. There was no trace of love for us ever when it came to him. "I'm sure you're all aware of the unfortunate situation with the woman conversing with outlaws. It seems they have another accomplice who also needs to be brought to justice. To our horror, we saw Lilly in chains. I could see Wills face contorting in anger. "The hanging shall be tomorrow at sundown. I'm expecting a brilliant turnout. I am aware that most of you will be coming in the hopes of seeing your favourite outlaws perform some spectacular tricks and save the day but let me warn you, I am too aware of this and I shall be prepared.

"He will pay for this," Will growled.

"Right behind you" John agreed

"What have I been telling you" Robin told them "Think with your head, wait till you're calm."

"We tried it your way and you just got someone else captured," John yelled, "now it's our turn. And you're either with us or against us."


	6. The Man in Black

It seemed that we were not the only ones to be seen sneaking about Nottingham castle that night. Many a cloaked figure could be seen lurking through shadow. One in particular must be called to attention. As it was this stranger who wore the battle scars of the previous dudgeon battle. These scars were not as plentiful as I would have liked. In truth, there was barley a scratch.

A secret signal was given as indication to run on and footsteps could barely be heard. Not a sound escaped the long corridors. Danger was a constant. Every opening or passageway could possibly hold many an enemy and all would be over. But not a thought could be spared to this. One thought to losing meant one was letting in the possibility. Survival meant that not one stray thought could hold such meaning. Victory came from actions and actions came from emotion.

Finally the corridors shortened as a destination was reached. There was but a small pause as every corner of the area was searched. Then a knock at the door followed. The creak of the door opening brought about a sigh of relief as the hood was lifted back and the blonde hair was released.

Sighing, Annie relocked the door. "Again?" she asked simply with a raised eyebrow. "You're going to get yourself killed Levon. Not that I care."

Levon shrugged. "All in a night's work," he said modestly. Despite how much he tried, he could do nothing to mask that posh accent.

But no matter how posh he was, nothing could prepare him for Annie's quarters. Such finery in one place was a living embodiment of the financial crisis in England. She was a typical Norman, displaying ornate pointless items to show others just how much they could waster while others starved, Levon found himself nervous about taking another step forward. "Oh don't be a child Levon," she said with a sigh, clearly having minimal enjoyment in his discomfort. The reaction preferred was admiration. Anything else was a disappointment. Her order to sit did little to take from his distress. Finally gathering courage, he perched himself on the edge of an intricate bench. The whole process was drawn out, as each action was cautious. She grew bored. "So is there a reason that you're here or do you go out of your way to bore me?"

He hated how small her tone made him feel. But he continued regardless. "There were Merry Men in the dudgeons today?"

This did well in catching Annie's attention. Her head snapped up and her eyes suddenly shone with alertness. "And everyone is alright?"

He nodded. "For now. But something tells me that this was not the end."

Finally, she asked the question she had been burning to ask. "Was Hood there?"

"Do you think I would be here if he was?" Levon said, suddenly angered. There was little anger behind there words. It was simply the stress of the evening. "Sorry," he said, sinking back a little as he regained himself. He focused instead on the tapestry before him, which filled a great majority of the wall. "Such an interesting design," he said with a cough of discomfort.

It was obvious how her eyes brightened at the opportunity to show it off. "Would I be right in the assumption that you would faint if I told you how much was spent due to it?"

It would. He chose not to answer, choosing instead to walk over and inspect it from a closer sighting. The design began to shock him. She happily stood behind him, admiring it. Levon continued to think of things to say to her, saying "I was just unaware of your interest in the Iliad. Especially such a stage of the Trojan war."

"Ah yes," she said as she came to stand even closer behind him. "I shall not pretend to possess a great deal of knowledge. But that scene always fascinated me in my childhood lessons. The idea of Prince Hector being slain by Achilles. There is just something so, ravishing, about a man who put his pride first and finally shown how utterly and completely weak he really is." She was then lost to him as she studied its every detail. Levon himself felt slightly ill from such an image.

He began to see how well suited the tapestry was to its owner. Both had the potential to hold great beauty. But their lives were filled with images of such darkness and hate. Annie herself possessed many a quality that others would consider beautiful. But to look upon her for longer than a few moments would give away her true image. Despite how hard she tried, many saw her as ugly. For there is only so much beauty something can maintain whilst coupling it with a constant scowl and horrid demeanor. This never stopped her from trying. It was only then that Levon was drawn to how many mirrors were placed around the room. It was obvious that a great majority of the day was spent seated in front of them, critiquing and maintaining. And near perfection was always maintained. Levon knew that he had little right to think such things. His appearance too, was a preened handsome. Quite a resemblance could be seen between the pair, despite their distant relation. Both had the blonde hair that favored the royal family and bright blue eyes. But Levon liked to believe that he knew where to draw the line. He knew that. At some point, one had to ignore mirrors and carry on with the day. He knew that clothing was meant to be worn and a little dirt or crease showed a day had been lived appropriately. Such a thought never occurred to Annie. Even then, for a quiet night in, she was dressed as if she was about to be invited to a diplomatic ball. The sophisticated design cut off at a high neck rimmed with lace, contrasting to the fine silk covering the bodice and skirt. Everything was tightly bound of course, far be that anyone see anything but. Even her headdress seemed to be extravagant silk.

But imperfection is everywhere. A single golden curl had fallen from its place and hung just below her right ear. Levon was torn between the anger of telling her this fact or the anger of her finding out that she did not tell him. He chose to cough ever so slightly and gesture at his own right ear. Her hand instantly snapped to her ear and felt the strand of betrayal. Her other hand instantly whipped up with her favourite ornate hand mirror as she fiddled with her hair. This only confused the poor man who had only just seen both hands clasped as they admired the tapestry. "Where were you hiding that?" he asked but she only ignored him.

"Look, you've said your piece. Any chance that means you can leave?"

He was all too delighted. Turning back at the door, he asked, "but what of Amelia? We can't just leave her."

She held her head to her forehead, as if masking a headache. "I don't know. We can think of that tomorrow."

"I feel like we will have little say in the matter," he mumbled, more to himself.

This time when she yelled him, he stopped for nothing.


	7. Robin Meets his Enemy

The once peaceful and silent corridors of Nottingham castle were suddenly permeated with the sounds of a bloodthirsty battle. After a day of distress and trouble, fighting for his life was just what Robin needed. Despite Robin's plentitude of skill, he found he was fighting the hardest he had needed to in almost a year against the hooded figure. The man in black seemed to struggle just as much. Neither would show weakness though as swords continued to crash. The deafening sound of metal only rose as determination grew. A solid kick to the chest sent Robin to the ground. As his head lurched to the side, Robin saw blood on his sword. But the whereabouts of the other man's infliction was near impossible to see. His movements were far to fast and constant.

To understand this battle, one has to go back to the start of the night. Back when the hanging of Amelia and Lilly were announced. Now, the Merry Men were each very passionate. The backing of these passions often differed but on thing was always constant. The love of ones family and the desperate need to protect them. This was in plain view on that night as Little John and Will were the perfect image on pure anger. Little was said initially. Only weapons drawn as many a once brave Merry Men backed away slowly from their comrades. "Go back to camp," Robin said simply. He too could sense the intense danger and was ready for the fit he knew was coming.

He placed a hand on Will's shoulder in what he hoped would be a reassuring act. The act was not well received as Will jerked himself away, appearing as though the very touch had burned him. "Get away from me," Will snarled, "we can't just go back to camp! Are you mad?"

Little John didn't even both to speak. He was too busy marching away. It took four Merry Men to slow him as Benny, Thomas, Luke and Matthew formed a sort of formation in front of him, hoping to slow him by blocking the path. It was to little avail. They were all too easily shoved aside. "And what is you plan to do?" Benny asked, "kill him?"

"You've got it," Little John said, sounding more like a growl than actual words. Anger did tend to bring out his bear-like qualities I have found.

"Kill Prince John?" Much asked in shock. He was always the pacifist and this new attitude in his fellow outlaws startled him. We were all beginning to see where Little John had gained his reputation from.

"Happily," Little John said. Will nodded in agreement, sword in hand.

"Oh so I suppose you don't mind a little civil war," I told them. "Need I remind you, Prince John is a bloody terrible ruler, but we could do far worse. If England had no ruler, there would be chaos."

"Anything would be better than him," Will muttered. "And the Sheriff is next."

Little John however had appeared to have a slight change of heart. My words had hit home as the inner hero in him thought of the people of England. Thankfully he paused slightly and turned desperately to Robin. "We have to do something," he said.

"Give me some time," Robin told him. "I'll go see Wilfred. If anyone would know where they were hidden, he would."

John nodded but was still extremely angered. Will seemed to be angered further by such logic and was furious at the idea of sitting by. But he knew that without John on his side, the Merry Men could restrain him if we all grouped together. Before he had a chance to challenge the decision, Robin had turned and run into the night. Every dark hallway and subdued corner seemed meaningless to Robin, as he was so deep in thought. The one worry plagued him. The worry of failure. Unbeknownst to Little John, Amelia had worked at the palace whilst Robin had been there. Only I knew fully of her relationship with Robin through 'mutual friends.' And Lilly had shown such kindness and bravery through helping them. The thought of anything happening to them was unthinkable to him.

Thankfully, there was always Wilfred. Yes, the very same Wilfred who had trained us all those years ago. On the day we were made outlaws, I saw many different reactions. Looking around, I saw countless faces showing confusion, disgust and panic. But I will always remember Wilfred. For he showed none of those reactions. He only smiled. And I dare say he laughed. It was obvious that he was one of the few in the early days who was proud of us. Remembering this, we quickly returned to Wilfred in our early days for any information required. And the idea remained. It was obvious that he cared for us, despite his best effort to hide this. When Robin finally reached him, it showed how that night was to be no exception.

"Robin, its always nice for a friendly visit" he said sarcastically. "You know no one ever just comes and visits anymore, they always want something."

Robin was all too happy to return the favour. "Wilfred, you're looking old and it's not working for you."

"Such a nice boy. I thought I trained you better than that."

"You trained me in swordplay and archery, you forgot manners. And I'm afraid this isn't a social visit."

He sighed. "Of course, all you young people only come see me if you want something."

"Who else asks you for things?" Robin asked, confused at Wilfred's slip of words.

"No one, I was just exaggerating." It was clear that Wilfred was changing the subject but Robin didn't have time to pursue this.

"So can I safely assume you're here about Amelia and Lilly? I'm afraid I don't know anything. Prince John is being very secretive about that." Sadly his words were true. And Wilfred had his ways. Normally, he was the top spy. Prince John often insisted on Wilfred being in his personal guard and from there, Wilfred could hear about almost anything. If he knew nothing, no one would.

Robin sighed, "Not the answer I was looking for. What are we going to do Wilfred? By any chance do you know anything about some anonymous man who easily bested three of my men?"

"So many questions today, no one just stops to say hello, you're all so rude." He was getting uncomfortable and avoiding the topic. He knew something.

"Wilfred old friend, I feel if one of us knew a secret, we should be able to tell the other."

"Focus on the problem at hand Robin, now get away from here, I can't be seen talking to you or there will be three hangings tomorrow." And with that he walked off. He was right, that was a problem for another day. For now Robin had to find two prisoners that could be anywhere in a giant castle and stop his men getting themselves killed, all in night. The situation was looking rather bleak. He had no plan and no time. The walk back to Sherwood seemed suddenly long as Robin thought of how disappointed and angry the others would be. He had always hated defeat and it was only worsened when innocents were hurt because of it.

Suddenly, Robin felt an unnerving sense of being watched. And his senses were rarely wrong. The past year ha taught him to trust said senses and at that moment, they were telling him to be completely alert.

After a moment, everything was still. But the feeling remained. And then all at once something hit him in the back of the head with great force. Disorientated, but not enough to fall, he quickly grabbed his sword. Turning quickly, Robin laid eyes on the man in black. He was smaller than expected but Robin knew to never let this trait give him a feeling of ease. Small fighters were blessed as they were often granted with natural agility. And this man lived up to the stereotype. Battle began with a large crash that came with the first meeting of the blades. And then crash after crash followed. All elements of the fight were needed as both fighters pushed the other to near breaking point. Something was different about this fight though, other than its apparent extreme danger quality. The difference was that Robin was actually enjoying himself. I always knew he was mad and this seemed a little better deserved at such a moment. Robin is the only man I know who enjoys fighting for his life. I suppose that Robin deserved a little danger after a year of Knights practically fainting at his feet. But there is still no excuse to find enjoyment in near death experiences. For the man was an excellent fight. Maybe to good, Robin was starting to lose. The small amount of blood on Robin's sword may have been a minor victory for a while but the man in black was showing no sign of even acknowledging the pain. And Robin had no time to stop and inspect the other to see where the wound was. Meanwhile, the idea of losing was unacceptable to Robin. Enjoyment was long gone at the idea of his pride being wounded. It was the fear of his pride rather than his life that spurred him on to fight even harder. However, it seemed that the other man had the same thought. A temporary moment of exhaustion cost the opponent dearly. Robin managed to knock him to the ground and have a moment to catch his breath. From this vantage point, Robin could see that he had wounded the man on his arm and it was bleeding considerably. This moment of observation cost Robin in turn as the man was quickly on his feet once more.

Thankfully for both concerned, the fight was broken up as the noise finally alerted nearby guards who ran over, weapons ready, hoping to capture two outlaws. Both forgot the fight as they split form each other and ran in opposite directions.

Robin didn't have time to turn and see what happened to his opponent. He found it strange how he hoped the other man got away. A little competition would never go amiss in Sherwood.

.

.

.

Levon thanked the Lord that the majority of the guards had chased Robin. It was early days for The Man in Black and few knew of any reputation. Robin was a far bigger prize. Getting away had been easier than expected and everyone was safe and sound. Still, Levon paced. Annie grew tired of this. Anyone complaining was annoying by her standard and she wished for nothing more than him to be gone. But when Levon panicked, his worried had to be heard. And believe it or not, Annie was the best listener he had at his disposal. The only other alternative made Annie appear docile as a kitten.

"Again, this was too close. He nearly won and the wound on the arm is going to take some explaining. We'll work through it as we always do but it is getting harder. All this over pride. I'm kidding myself if I believe this will be over after we save Amelia and Lilly."

"For goodness sake," Annie finally said angrily. "this has nothing to do with pride. It's about revenge."

"Well all I know is I can't keep doing this. Prince John has shown that he is all too happy to throw nooses around. I don't want to be hung for this."

"Oh stop being such a coward. Or here's an idea, get a backbone! Learn to stand up for yourself. You don't have to be involved in this if you don't want to." Standing back to purvey him, she realised that she was wasting her breath. As she took in the extreme panicked look of the man, she knew that he would never stand up for anything. Levon sighed as he realised the same thing.

Annie continued to be a mixture of annoyed and bored. "So are you going to leave anytime soon?"

"You know, instead of being cruel all of the time, you could say something nice once in a while. Maybe even ask how I am or something."

She sighed. "For goodness sake, I think it's pretty obvious that neither of us enjoy the others company. We are here for one person and one person alone. Now, are you physically hurt at all?"

Levon was forced to admit, "no. Not a scratch."

"Right. So stop bloody well complaining and leave me in peace!"

Finally he left. His intention: to go and say he was out of the charade for good.

Intentions do not often go as planned.

.

.

.

Back at camp, neither Will nor Little John had indulged in a mere moment of peace as every possible plan was thought out. Everyone knew that every single plan they thought of would fail. No one had the heart to voice this fact. There was many a raised eyebrow as Will announced. "We must find the Sheriff. If we find him, we find information. So we need as many of you to come as possible. I think he is less likely to say no to helping us if we have the entire gang with swords pointed at his throat. Once we demand their whereabouts, he will have no choice but to tell us or die. I will happily complete that last part if he refuses."

"And how do you propose that we get close enough to the Sheriff to accomplish this?" I said. "And how do you propose we stop the countless guards he will have at his disposal. And how do you…"

He had clearly had enough of my logic. "For goodness sake Allen! People will die. Sometimes you just need faith."

"Faith gets people killed," I muttered but he was no longer listening.

"Robin told us to wait here," Matthew said, clearly unnerved by the look Will gave him. It was not the reply Will had wished to hear.

"I don't care what Robin said," John said angrily. "What if Wilfred doesn't know anything? Where does that leave us? Now I'm going to get the sheriff, anyone who wants to is welcome to come."

Will followed, "I'm right behind you but I can't guarantee I wont kill the Sheriff." I suspect that Will thought it best to slit his throat, whether he gave the information or not.

"Try and restrain yourself," John told him, obviously not really caring. "Anyone else?" This was the question everyone feared. Thomas surprised many of us by getting up and joining them. I think this was extremely supportive of him for I still do not understand his reasoning. It was in no form any kind of moral empathy. Thomas had no family so he had no feelings to try and understand the others with. He was not particularly close yet with neither Will nor Little John. They were friendly of course but the strong friendship came much later. Maybe its foundations were laid on that day. The same principal goes for Luke, who also joined them. Although, I suspect there was a slight amount of empathy for Luke in the situation as one of his greatest fears was anything happening to Matthew.

Matthew had this same fear but his honour to his leader was greater at that moment and he remained seated. Much claimed that he stayed due to that same sense of honour to leadership but I suspect that he was scared. Benny was the same. The difference was that he was open about it. "Robin has the best ideas," he told the others. "And he is the one who can think on his feet and get us out of any situation. I wouldn't feel safe without him there."

Thankfully, no one saw the need to pick a fight with him. Apparently, I was a different story. "What about you Allen?" Will asked, "Are you going to be your usual cowardly self and do whatever your precious master says?"

"I'm not a coward," I said.

"Then why are you always doing whatever he says, even when you know it's wrong? Sure, we may not find anything, but there is a possibility. How much possibility do you think there will be if we just sit here, hoping for a miracle?"

"If he asks, you made me come" I eventually said as I followed them out.

"If he asks, you finally grew a back bone and disobeyed him" Will corrected.

To my surprise Matthew came running after us. "If anything happens to them and I did nothing…"

"Thanks mate" John told him and we set off.

Unfortunately the sheriff was nowhere to be found. Will and John were getting frantic. We had to settle for defeating some guards who informed us that the sheriff was doing a special job that meant he wouldn't get back until just before the hanging.

This was the last thing John and Will needed to hear. The second to last thing was Thomas complaining. "Well what a night. Or a waste of one" Thomas said,. This only succeeded in making the already furious men all the more mad.

"You think I planned this?" Will asked him, turning suddenly, fists at the ready.

"Well if you did you planned it pretty bad"

"Shush" Luke said, suddenly alert. Something did not seem right in the castle that night. For now he too, gained the feeling of being watched. Now Luke had always had an amazing sense of hearing. And from this, he managed to make out the slight sound of tiny tip toed footsteps, running to the left, behind a door that was slightly ajar.

"Where are you going?" John asked as Luke pushed at the door.

"Well we don't have anything else to do, do we?" Luke responded. "Now someone was watching us but made no attempt to alert any guards or fight us or anything. Sounds like trouble to me. So I am going to find out exactly who we're dealing with."

Such an enemy intrigued me, and apparently, the rest of the gang. Knowing Nottingham castle as well as I did, I knew that the passageway chosen lead to a treasury with a dead end. This could work in our favour. And it was a short passage way so in no time at all; we had reached the end to face our foe. "The man in black," I mumbled as I saw him. "That's the man who defeated us last night," I whispered to the others who had not yet had the joy of a proper meeting.

"Right. The one who 'came out of no where' so you had no chance to fight" Will whispered, trying to look smug.

"Well now we have the upper hand," Matthew said, silently pulling his sword of its sheave.

He wasn't silent enough. The man heard in time to dodge Matthews attack and pull his own sword. He was clearly skilled but there were six of us to one of him.

I chose to stand close to the exit and let the others do the fighting. I figured that this man was good and he would probably break through the men and try and run. That was where I come in. He did knock out three of the gang members and appeared to be doing it again. Matthew and Luke were on the floor in mere moments. Both may not have possessed the greatest of skills, but I had hoped they would last a little longer for their own sakes. John would normally have stopped many an enemy. But this enemy was quick and agile and could easily dodge his large swings. Somehow, John's quarter staff was used against himself and collided with his own leg with great force. As he sunk to the floor in pain, a swift kick sent him plummeting instead. Will easily had the second highest amount of skill in the entire gang but within five strokes from the man in black's sword, Will's own sword was flung from his hand and a sharp hit with a hilt sent him down with the others. Thomas stood little chance as he was practically pushed aside.

Finally my prime position paid off. I calmly waited for the right moment and struck him hard in the side, knocking the wind right of him. I've seen this kind of thing too many times. When people panic they always focus on the way out and never check out their surroundings making it all to easy to sneak up on them. Again and again my fist made contact. And as he doubled over in pain, I easily pulled the hood back.

We all stared.

It was a woman.

"Marian" I said in astonishment as I looked upon my cousin.

She clearly wasn't in the mood for pleasantries and kicked me in the shin with all her might.

It was my turn to double over in pain. She knew the precise spot that could make your whole leg go numb.

She ran past me and was gone.

There was silence.

"Still smug?" I asked Will.

He groaned and rolled over, half due to pain and half out of the embarrassment of being beaten by a girl.

It was my time to take charge. "We need to get back to camp. Now!"

For once, everyone obeyed instantly.


	8. Truth Revealed

Chapter eight

Everyone was confused.

And of course, they looked to me for answers.

Loyalty was about to be tested. Loyalty to my best friend. Or loyalty to my wish to remain in one piece. The Merry Men didn't enjoy being kept in the dark.

I feared that the time had come to display the secret that Robin had kept hidden this past year.

Giving no one a chance to talk, I quickly took charge.

"We have to get back to camp. Now."

For once, everyone obeyed.

I rather liked my newfound powers. The whole 'Allen says and everyone obeys' was a nice change. Something gave me the feeling that it wouldn't last long.

There was an odd silence that came with the journey back to camp. There was still the worry of the upcoming hanging. But the suspense seemed to have temporarily silenced but the suspense. Many long awaited questions were about to be answered.

Much gave us all smug looks when we finally arrived as we prepared for Robin to yell at us.

Amazingly he didn't. He looked too defeated. "I'm sorry," he said to Will and John "Wilfred knew nothing."

"That can wait," I told him "you may want to sit down."

Begrudgingly, he obliged. "We don't have time for whatever this is about. We need a plan and fast."

"Plans can wait for a little bit," I told him. Everyone else had gathered round too, in the hopes of finally understanding the mystery.

Pausing to glare at them resulted in a few of them shuffling a few steps back as they pretended to stop eavesdropping.

"Do you remember the man who attacked my group last night."

Nodding, he said "all too well, he attacked me earlier."

Why was I not surprised?

"Well that is what I wanted to talk to you about," I said slowly. "He's not exactly a he and both know the only woman capable of doing those things."

He didn't say anything. I allowed him time for it to sink in.

Robin didn't look at me. He didn't look at anyone. His eyes were staring intently into nothingness as he failed to push back the memories he had been avoiding all year.

"So she's back," he said, more to himself.

The men could not be silent anymore. Muttering amongst themselves, pushing others forward to ask for answers.

"Who is she?" Luke asked, obviously being the Merry Man who couldn't stand not knowing the most.

Rather then answering them he simply walked off.

They all looked at each other and then all eyes fell to me.

"I wont tell you anything."

All hands flew to their weapons.

"But I will go talk to him and see if he feels like sharing" I said quickly and hastily walked away from the nearly drawn weapons.

Robin had fled to the furthest corner of camp. Anything to avoid the questions.

"I don't want to talk about it," he told me in a tone that showed he meant business.

Thinking of the weapons I decided that the rest of the gang was scarier threat right now.

But only just.

"She may be our only option."

"I don't want to hear it."

"Amelia and Lilly will die."

"We can save the some other way"

I was already sick of this. "You know what. You can keep making excuses but I know you're ashamed and scared of seeing her again. You don't want everyone to know because it'll just bring back the memories that you're been avoiding all year. You can stay here and do nothing as innocent people die or you can suck it up, tell them the truth and get Marian's help."

There was silence.

"You're choosing to stay here aren't you? Because I lied when I said that was an option. It is just one of those things you have to say when giving a speech like that."

He actually smiled.

"Ok I'm coming."

The gang had already gathered around the fire expectantly waiting the story.

Robin thought long about the appropriate place to begin but seemed lost. "You know, Allen could probably tell this better than I could. He was always too nosey for his good.

I sighed but rose to the occasion.


	9. How Hood came to Be

And so I told our story. The story you already know. Well, at least you know the start. I suppose I left off writing the end for as long as possible as I would much rather avoid the topic. The plan worked well. Marian had never been mentioned for over a year. But it was obvious that she had been present. Many times I would look at Robin and see a distant look in his eyes. It was obvious that he was many miles away in memory of her.

The year was 1188 but I suppose that had best speak a little of the time before that. For when Marian left, Robin had no clear future. There was clearly no further need for a playmate when the child is no longer in the country. Even before she left, Robin had been holding on by the skin of his teeth. Playmates were a thing of childhood and there had been many a time where Marian's parents considered on insisting that age had taken precedence and at the very least, a male playmate was not only unnecessary but also rather inappropriate. But everyone had known better that to split up Robin and Marian. That is, until she was sent away.

But fate always had a way of smiling upon Robin. The morning after her departure, I bolted into Robin's chambers in the wee hours of the morning with a long scroll of ways we could ensure that he remain with me in Nottingham castle. I was always an morning riser and never quite realised how everyone else was not. So I suppose that it was understandable when many a time was thrown at my head. "Well that is brilliant gratitude," I told him, to which was gained another book to the head. Even while waking, he had perfect aim and if I had not ducked, I would most definitely have had a black eye. "That is rather unnecessary!" I said, attempting to keep my voice down. Servants in the rooms surrounding his would not fare well to be awaken.

"What do you want Allen?" he groaned, refusing to even lift his head and look at me.

"I came to help you, although I am no longer sure that I want to thanks to your attitude. Look I made a list! One of these will work and you can stay here."

Finally he rolled over to face me. "Wilfred already offered me a job as a palace guard. And I start very soon. So do you think I can sleep a little more? It is not going to be an easy day when I start real training."

"Well you could have told me to start with," I muttered as a walked out. He didn't notice and was already asleep again. But he was right about needing his sleep. Since he was about to celebrate his sixteenth birthday, he would officially be the youngest guard to serve in the service of Nottingham to date. But thanks to his prior training, he had no need to worry. During that first morning, four new guards were to be trained by Wilfred, Robin included. The other three were all at least ten years older than Robin with large, muscled bodies. Each took the time to scoff at Robin when he approached the group. It is true that in five years he would mirror them in appearance, only differing in looking much more appealing but at the this time, he still had many an inch to grow and was still to fill out into this height. The ignorance of the guards amused Wilfred and he thought that it would be amusing to show them the hard way. "You there!" he said the largest of the men, "show me your skills." He then pretended to scan the group to choose who he would face. "Robin," he finally said. "You two shall match off. The winner shall continue." Both Robin and Wilfred fought back smiles off their faces as the others chuckled between them. Within moments, the other man had been disarmed and was lying on the castle floor moaning in agony. "So who is next?" Wilfred said in response to their shocked faces.

Now we return to 1188. Age treated Robin well of course. No one would dare laugh when faced with him in a fight anymore. But rather than envy him, he had successfully gained the respect of each of his colleagues. Females around the castle had also taken notice and he became known as one of the most eligible young men in Nottingham. Meanwhile, I was still alone. Nothing new there. I had grown tall as well but hadn't quite gained the muscles and extraordinary good looks.

Nottingham was shaken by the news of the deaths of Prince William and his wife and son through a sudden and brief pestilence. Marian was seventeen at the time and was therefore passed onto the care of King Richard himself as his ward. Then there was the matter of their funerals. The King insisted that at times like this, people needed their families close by. Therefore he decided that Marian must be returned to England immediately for an unknown amount of time as he decided if her studied were satisfactory.

Being the brilliant friend that I was, I requested that Robin accompany me to the docks as my own personal guard. I always loved doing this as I rather enjoyed ordering him around when he was not allowed to refuse. I didn't have the heart to do such a thing on that day however. He was clearly nervous and worried that she had long since forgotten him. "Well she never tried to write or anything," he said, barley attempting to keep the complaining tone form his voice.

"She probably wasn't allowed," I said. The two of us rode behind the rest of the group as we discussed this. Robin kept his visor and voice down so that Annie was not aware f his presence. Both of us were not in the mood for one of her tantrums.

"If she really wanted to write, she would have found a way," he said, making himself all the more nervous.

"Well you can ask her yourself soon can't you?" I said as the docks came into view. In very plain view was a large ship approaching land. King Richard surprised us all by accompanying us. He was normally much more of a silent figure that we simply heard good things about. But he always had a soft spot for Marian. He surprised me further by speaking to me while we waited. "I'll wager that she comes off that ship covered in mud, screaming her head, just for attention."

The idea was not so far fetched. "I'll wager that she has turned to the dark side and will steal our swords and murder us," I decided.

Annie ruined our fun by saying, "I wager that she will be the perfect little lady who has lost all of her horrid childhood ways"

It still shocks me that Annie was right. Our eyes were all instantly drawn to a familiar golden hair as it appeared towards the end of the ship. Every jaw dropped at how beautiful she had become. And needless to say, not a speck of mud was in sight. Her smile was impossible to no return as she walked towards us. But something was wrong. The Marian that I remembered would never walk anywhere. She believed that running got you there just as fast. As King Richard dismounted to greet her, she did pull him into the bear hug that I expected but rather curtsied ever so gracefully. I had never been so disappointed.

When I finally managed to tear my eyes away the transformation, my eyes were quickly stuck on a new sight. The sight of Robin clearly falling in love. With each step she took, he grew more and more absorbed, clearly unable to look away but for different reasons than mine. It wasn't a shock in the slightest. Anyone who could put up with Marian's constant bossy mannerism must have had a motive. It amused me how he never figured out that the reason had been how much he fancied her. Annie finally realised which guard I had brought along and was clearly kicking herself for not stopping it. All eyes were once again on Marian as everyone prayed that Richard would re-introduce them soon.

Finally Richard realised the pressure upon him and leapt to action. "Oh Marian, you remember Robin of course. Your childhood friend." Her eyes suddenly flickered up to stare upon. It was a feeling that Robin had never felt before.

For one moment, I was ready to rejoice. I was watching closely and I could have sworn that I saw her catch her breath during the first glance. And then there was the next horrid moment. That moment where there was no recognition at all in her eyes. "Of course," she agreed, but her tone lacked genuine happiness.

I could see how heartbroken my friend was but he hid it well from others. "Welcome back," he said pleasantly but gone was the excitement from before.

And then there was silence. Strange silence. For once Annie did something useful and took charge. "Come Marian, you must ride beside me and tell me all about France."

I still longed to believe that a small part of her lived on. "Yes Marian," I added, "tell us about all the mischief you got up."

To my horror, she looked at me in shock. "Why on earth would I get up to mischief?" It was clear that she lacked all of the life that she used to emit. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw King Richard pull a few coins out of his purse and I followed suit when her back was turned. Annie had won the bet, and we all paid dearly.

During the entire trip home, we all endured trivial tales that kept Annie riveted. I considered myself an expert on the appropriate way of using a napkin and tips for curtseying. All the while I looked around desperately for a means to kill myself. I suspect that Robin and King Richard were doing the same. Gone was the free spirit and its place was a being who was poised, refined and boring.

"Well I suppose that rules out all of the fun I had planned for her return," I muttered as Robin and dismounted.

Robin was still in his role as a servant and could not respond. Instead her turned to the King, bowed slightly and offered to take the horses back to the stable. I suspect that he just wanted to escape. Thoughts distracted him as he attempted to gather everyone's reigns and he accidently brushed past Marian. His response seemed so strange in contrast to what I remember happening during childhood. If they were still children, she would have wrestled him to the ground as punishment. Now, he stood back, bowing again and murmuring, "apologies milady." She reacted strangely too, clearly unsure of how she should act. I suspect Robin noted the change too, reflected in the look on his face as he led the horses away.

It could have been a trick of the light, but I could have sworn that just for a moment, I saw a smirk of evil pass through Marian's face.

Robin meanwhile was going through quite the internal trauma. In one day he had realised that he had been in love with his best friend from childhood and seen her completely forget him. It was clear that the day was not going well. Bu there was still work to do and he guarded his post, trying to ignore how miserable he felt.

A strange creak brought him back to attention but after careful inspection, he saw nothing. So he slipped back into his thoughts. Then suddenly, he was hit by a great force which sent him flying to the floor. In that moment of confusion, he could not understand why Marian knelt over him. "Well you always said that I was going to bowl you over one day," she said, as if this was explanation enough. "I decided today was the day." And there was, that wonderful smile, as well as the devilish twinkle in the eye. She sighed in exasperation as his look of confusion remained. "What was the last thing you said to me before I left?"

He had to think long and hard about that. "Don't let them change you," he said after a pause.

"And so I didn't." Robin was still clearly confused. "Well Richard can't know that can he? If he sees how I am exactly the same, he will insist that I go back."

Finally he relaxed and hugged her back. "You had me so worried," he said, laughing in relief.

"And you have far too little faith in me!"

I have since seen Robin fight countless guards, often alone, sometimes weaponless, always out numbered and usually, always facing certain death. But he always faced those circumstances with courage. None of this courage was present when he wanted to tell Marian that he loved her.

It seemed that he needed a little push. The kind of push that King Richard was all too happy to give., although I am not sure if he knew what he was doing.

Eventually he found how Marian had fooled him. Of course, he found this out after he allowed her to remain in her beloved England. She politely thanked him and walked away. In the distance, King Richard heard sudden crashed, the occasional terrified scream and a chorus of angry yelling. "What have I done?" he asked flatly. It was obvious that he had no control over her, even as her closest family. And generally, when guardians struggle to control their wards, they marry them off in a hurry. This was the case with the King. Suitors began to flock to Nottingham after hearing a many a true tale of her beauty and many a false tale of her virtue.

The first day we say the suitors proved to be rather alarming. Such a number had not been expected. "I have a problem," Marian said, eyes upon the line, arms folded as her brain worked away.

"Or you have an opportunity," Annie said. Her words were ignored.

"Or you have a problem," I said, seconding Marian's first notion.

"Problems can always be fixed," Robin assured her. And with that came a false expectation. No matter how perfect the suitor, Robin and Marian could always a flaw to report back to King Richard and delay the prospect of marriage. The reasons began logically enough. The first was not rich enough. The second was a cruel man. The third was too tall. Logic was soon shoved aside as reasons centered on any minor detail. It was clear that King Richard was tiring of this game. But the pair was having too much fun.

Finally, the unthinkable happened. They ran out of ideas. There are only so many suitors one can see before one has already listed every possible annoying trait. Our system of sorting suitors had previously involved myself writing notes from observations during meetings. It was far too difficult to try and remember every man that came through the doors. So as Marian reached for yet another scroll I had given her, her brow furrowed at my lack of listing towards the negatives. "Robin, I need help with this one," she called and he was instantly by her side.

"We have never met a match we could not tear apart," he said confidently but frowned at the parchment. "A French Duke. Rich. Powerful. A country you favour. He is kind, well that is unfortunate. Handsome, interesting that Allen picked up on that. Smart but not too smart. And he has Allen's approval."

"Allen has never given that before," she said, eyes wide in shock. "Come on, you remember him. What were his faults?"

"His eyebrows are too big?"

"Actually they were quite averagely sized. And we have already used that excuse on that last German Lord."

Robin was close to being at a loss. "Did he have funny teeth?"

"No and we used that excuse on the Knight who had the funny teeth," she said with a sigh. "And that excuse was legitament." Marian's fingers tapped away, showing how strongly she was thinking. "Well I give up. I suppose that I had better marry him then. It is a sad day when we run out of excuses."

Robin knew one. The one excuse that would excuse her from every suitor who came. But he would never say it out loud. But he was tired of being a coward. Without thinking, he said, "You shouldn't marry him because I love you."

He instantly regretted his words. For there was no going back. Her head had turned suddenly to look at him but her expression portrayed nothing but surprise. He hated this. Before, where there had been nothing in his mind was suddenly contrasted with a flurry of desperate thoughts as he attempted to think of a way to take his words back. "I refuse to take that back," he finally decided, and said it out loud for good measure. "It is probably the truest thing I have ever said.

"Robin," she said gently and his heart dropped. She looked so serious. And then that smile returned. "You have no idea how long I have waited for you to say that."

It took him many a moment to confirm to himself that she had in fact said those very words. And suddenly he felt as if he were twelve again, nervous about kissing her for the first time. At the same time, he felt so different. The main difference was how he could now think of nothing better than to lean and kiss her. She appeared just as nervous as him. Words had been spoken but actions spoke louder than words. And then, as their lips finally met, they knew, once and for all, that they truly loved each other.

"I feel like we just broke a promise to our past selves," she said gently.

"Well, since the promise is already broken, there can be no harm," he said as he kissed her again.

Hearing footsteps, they quickly leapt apart and with good cause for King Richard himself strode through the door. "Any luck?" he asked, knowing full well the answer.

"This one is," Marian began to say but trailed off, realising that they had no appropriate excuse.

The King looked at Allen's notes and saved her from herself. "Don't bother. He is only a Duke. We are now stopping until we find you someone with my much high stature. Don't you worry my girl. You will have no need to settle. I'm thinking that a Prince is the lowest we can accept."

Robin sputtered slightly. "With respect your highness, what could possibly be higher than a Prince?"

King Richard smiled that little knowing smile and said, "there is always something better. I will be back with more suitors tomorrow." And he left, not knowing the impact he had created. With each word he had spoken, the hopes of the pair had sunk lower and lower. To say the least, Robin was far from being a Prince.

"He seemed determined," Marian said quietly. Both knew the King well enough to hear the seriousness in his voice.

"Higher than a Prince," Robin said wistfully.

Unknowingly, I came bounding in the door, completely unaware that I was interrupting one of the most important conversations they would ever have. "Greetings all," I said cheerily, making myself comfortable. Both gave many a signal to leave but I have never been one to pick up on those types of things. Biting into an apple, I managed to tell Robin, "Wilfred is looking for you. He was in the main courtyard last time I saw him." Most people would have seen how Robin could think of many things he would rather do than leave without speaking his mind. But I did not. So therefore, Robin was forced to leave. There was no chance of missing the large glare Marian shot at me when Robin was a considerable distance away but I sat in oblivious confusion. "What did I do now?" I said, mouth still full of apple. She stormed out without bothering to answer.

The next problem for the pair was their apparent inability to be alone together. It was no longer the days of youth where we could run about all day in complete freedom. Both had responsibilities and tasks that had to be completed. And finally, when they were granted with a moment of freedom, they found themselves unable to be rid of their next two problems, Annie and myself. It was obvious that they resented our presence and not a lot of fun was to be had. But the day turned into one of those horrid times where everyone wished to leave but it seemed rude to do so. Luckily, we had a way of escaping one another, formed long ago for those types of situations. After one last deep sigh of boredom, Marian finally announced, "Right, time for a little hide and seek."

Annie groaned, obviously forgetting the code. "Are we not a little too mature for such childish games?"

The rest of us knew better. "I guess that I will seek," Robin sighed, pretending as if it were a burden. Then we all followed the same pattern. For it mattered not who was officially the seeker. No one would be found. I wandered away to the library to read for as long as possible. Annie sauntered away to goodness knows where. Marian changed her course slightly and found the best hiding place; directly outside the door. Robin pretended to count for a short while and found her instantly. "Brilliant placement," he said, attempting to hide the smile. "Honestly, I feel like I have been looking for you all day."

"It is rather fantastic," she said, faking self-admiration. She leant back slightly against the dark red curtains. "You see how my dress appears to be part of the curtains? I thought that was clever." Before she had time for another quip, he was pulling back through the door to kiss her once more.

But there was always that looming factor of King Richard. Apparently it did little to stop them however, it was a few weeks before he knew of anything. On that day, Robin had been assigned as one of the King's personal guards. King Richard had never seen the point in have many guards around him and all it managed to do was make him feel uncomfortable. So Robin was the only one in direct duty. All the while, King Richard studied my own scrolls regarding each individual suitor. Each suitor appeared to require discussion, of which Robin had to unwillingly participate. Every word about possible suitors for his love angered Robin all the more. "Is something wrong?" King Richard asked, finally noticing Robin's discomfort.

"If I may sire, the day we first met, you referred to me as brave." The King nodded in remembrance. "And you respected that bravery," Robin continued. Again he gained a nod. "Well I feel that this may be another time to act in such a manner." There was many a deep breath before his next sentence. "You see sire, I am in love with Marina. And what's more, she love's me back." It was extremely difficult to see what how the King was reacting. Robin barley noticed. "I know that I am no King or Duke or even a Lord. I am a servant. But I love her. I always have and I am sick of sneaking around. I want to shout from the rooftops! But I need your approval. And if you loved her at all, you would consider what she wants."

It was around then that Robin realised how foolish he was being, testing a King. Dropping to one knee, he bowed his head. But he refused to beg for forgiveness. For he regretted nothing.

King Richard seemed to take him time studying Robin. "Do you recall what I said to you a few weeks ago?"

Robin's shoulder sunk down as he repeated, "A Prince is the lowest you will accept."

The King shook his head, "After that." Robin racked his brains but could only shrug. "I said 'there is always something better.' And I was not referring to something like a King. Something better could only be love. I have been waiting for you to approach me ever since she returned."

I suspect that King Richard had more to say but Robin was far beyond the listening stage. Rather than anger him, it only amused the King who decided, "You know, I think I can manage without a guard for a while. I suspect that you have better things to do." Robin was running before these words were finished. Marian, Annie and I had spent the day in the markets and it had been far from enjoyable. Annie hated the markets and when Annie hated something, it was ruined for the rest of us by her constant complaining. Many times before I had mimed stabbing myself and Marian had a look in her eyes that showed she felt the same.

Everything changed when Robin ran up to us. And when I say us, I obviously mean Marian. He was clearly puffed and out of breath but he still managed to tell her, "your uncle approves!" He didn't need to say anymore as she had thrown her arms around him, enjoying their first public kiss. There was many a knowing smile around the market place as everyone pretended to busy themselves, all the while watching. Amelia was present, doing some trading of her own and was clearly nearly in tears of happiness.

Not everyone was happy obviously. I was forced to physically hold Annie back. "This is not going to happen," she said through clenched teeth. In one swift motion, I had her slumped over my shoulder and was walking away.

With the crazed sister out of the way, I could finally be thrilled about my best friends realising what I had realised long ago. And it was about bloody time.

.

Time flew again and it was no long before we were all in the market place again. It seemed that it was time for another joyous occasion, despite how the event started. This was only to be expected, Annie was there after all. It had been a few weeks since she had found out about Robin and Marian. While the rest of Nottingham rejoiced, she schemed. Practically every conversation between herself and Marian revolved around Robin's every flaw, most of which were extremely irrelevant or magnified. The conversation in the market place was no exception. The issue of the time was Robin's true intentions. Her complaint was something along the lines of, "I know that he says he loves you now, but what about the future? Has he ever made any reference at all to anything definite? I'm telling you, he will use you and leave you and what will you be left with?" Marian was very skilled at slipping in and out of attention and was barley hearing a word. This worked to Robin's attention as he carefully switched places with their guard and wandered behind them, trying his best to hold in laughter. Annie was too deep in her rant to notice such things. "I am warning you now, you are far more likely to have a baby in your belly than a ring on your finger!"

"Annie!" Marian whispered, suddenly alert and looking around to ensure that no one had overheard. It was a shame that she did not look back. Robin would have been caught. "I don't think this is any of your business."

"Everything is my business," Annie said.

"Is it really?" Robin asked, causing both women to jump in shock and panic. "Now why do I get the feeling that I shouldn't have heard that conversation."

Annie refused to be embarrassed as Marian was. "Maybe because eavesdropping is incredibly rude and reflects how much of a spineless coward you are?" she said sweetly, but her voice was dripping in venom.

Robin also appeared civil but they were being anything but. It was nothing too serious and I suspect that both enjoyed the banter. "Annie, why don't you fly back to the bat cave you crawled out of?"

She chose not to directly respond. "Now, I am going to pretend that someone across the market is calling me so I can leave." True to her word, she turned and in a flat tone, called, "Oh it's you! I haven't seen you in song long. Sorry, I must go talk to my fictional friend."

"Take your time," Robin called after her. "That looked fun," he said as he turned to Marian. "Marriage talk huh? Well I'm glad that we will never have to deal with that."

"We won't?" Marian asked in surprise.

"Of course not," Robin said with a laugh. "You know that I think marriage is just a pointless show. And people are never really happy when they're married. What we have is great."

"Right," Marian said slowly, clearly holding back anger. "I have to go with Annie now," she said, running off. Both knew full well that she would be reporting back about the conversation and Annie would be taking advantage. Very shortly, Marian would be second guessing her future with Robin.

Little did she know that was playing right into Robin's plan as he pulled a ring from his pocket to inspect it again.

.

I had no idea about these goings on until I was forced to spend time around Marian and heard of her incessant complaining. I could have sworn for a moment that I was with Annie. I had never been more confused over the idea that Robin had no wish to marry Robin. She informed me that he had told her to meet him at their spot later in the day. She then spoke for a considerable amount of time about how he 'told' her instead of 'asking' her. None of that sounded like my best friend so naturally I confronted him.

"You're not Marian," he said in an amused tone when I stormed up to him. "But I am hoping that she will react the same."

"What do you think you are doing?" I yelled. "Are you trying to ruin this?" He attempted to interrupt me but I refused to let him. "Since when did you not want to marry her? Isn't that the one thing you want in life? If you keep this up, you will lose her!"

It seemed that the only way to silence me was to pull the ring out for me to see. I am ashamed to say, I acted in the same way a woman would.

"She is impossible to surprise," he explained as I happy danced about, holding the ring. "And honestly, I think it is rather amusing to watch her fret."

I recall speaking at an incredible rate, rather loudly and getting the fright of my life when the portrait moved and Marian entered. Naturally I froze, Robin too, as we anxiously awaited to see if she had over heard.

Her face showed anger so we really hoped that she had not. It was not the ideal reaction to say the least. Apparently, we were safe. "Well?" she said, "why am I here? So you can be even more insensitive and ruin more dreams?"

I winked at Robin. "I will leave you two alone," I said, heading for the exit.

"No stay Allen," she said to me. "I may need you to hold me back." Initially I was torn. Clearly I was about to interrupt a personal and romantic moment. And I also realised that I still had the ring in my hand. There was no way to subtly pass it over to Robin so I supposed I was stuck there. Robin was less than thrilled at the fact and I held up my hands in surrender, showing him the ring. I gained an eye roll which I felt that I had not deserved. The only thing I could do was edge backward and try and be as inconspicuous as possible.

Robin could not have picked a better spot. After all, this was somewhere that meant so much to them. And the roses were in bloom. I hate how excited I was but it is something that I will have to live with.

"Marian," Robin began to say but she had never been the kind of girl who listened. She just had to dig herself a bigger hole.

"No you are going to listen! Yes I know that I sound slightly mad and that we only stopped being friends a few months ago but do you think that makes it alright to announce that you would never want to marry me? Need I remind you that we were friends long before that? Te years! So do you just expect me to sit around and hope that you change your mind? You say that you love me and yet you want no future with me!"

He calmly said her name again, but she was no way near finished. "I never thought Annie would be right about you but seriously? You just want to see how things go?" I was beginning to see the family resemblance. Apparently when anyone in our family became upset, it was difficult to silence them.

Robin no longer possessed the ring that successfully silenced me so he did the only thing he could. He got down on one knee. For the first time in her life, Marian's words caught in her throat and she had nothing to say. "Marian, you are without a doubt, the craziest woman and most annoying woman I have ever met. And it was extremely amusing to toy with you these past few days. But under that annoying exterior, you are wonderful, kind, smart and I cannot imagine spending my life with anyone else. I love you and want to marry you if you'll have me."

There was a pause as I realised that Robin was looking at me, clearly wanting something. "Oh the ring!" I exclaimed, running forward and handing it over. Then it was back to my corner to pretend I was not there.

Marian had always been one for revenge and pretended to contemplate deeply. It was obvious that she had never been happier. She kept him waiting as punishment.

"Will you bloody well say yes, I can't feel my knee," he said.

And then came the magic moment. "Yes."

I missed the following wonder of the ring being put on her finger and when he spun her around in his arms. I was too busy racing around the castle yelling, "she said yes! She said yes!"

.

.

But magical moments never last.

.

Any fool could see that King Richard was not happy in England. He clearly longed for more but we never suspected that he would leave us. But he did.

None of us knew much about the crusades. We knew that the war in the Holy Lands had been going on for many years with no signs of stopping. Richard had been sending troops over but no longer felt like this was enough. He wanted to go fight alongside the men and leave his country. Naturally people were angry. Kings can't just go off to war and leave their kingdoms in the hands of anyone. Richard said that he wouldn't do this. We rushed to the town square when he heard that he would address the people. Annie complained about having to be around poor people, glaring at Robin all the while. The rest of us didn't care. We were all too anxious to hear the Kings words.

He finally stepped onto the platform to inform us of our future. "My subjects, our own people are in desperate need. The men brave enough to fight in the Holy Land are losing. Barley any make it home. I love this country but my expertise is needed elsewhere. Therefore I shall be joining them."

The crowd gasped and whispered anxiously. The four of us turned to each other looking shocked. He continued "I am not leaving you unguarded. My brother Prince John will rule in my place."

With these words the crowd's worried whispers turned to angered yells. I must admit I was yelling louder than most of them. For our hatred of King Richard's younger brother, Prince John, was great. With good reason it seemed.

The days flew by and Richard left. He tried to hug Marian goodbye but she was too angry with him. "Take care of yourself," he said but she said nothing back.

"Take care of her," he told Robin.

"I'll try your majesty," Robin said with no real confidence at his task.

And then he was gone. And then Prince John took power. It was obvious that England was about to change. We just had no idea about how much.

.

There were many of who still indulged in a fantasy that Prince John could not possible be as terrible as we predicted. We were fools. Within weeks of his taking power, one could see the suffering. Taxes soared as Prince John demanded the funds that he felt were appropriate. These taxes hurt the poor as they struggled to pay them. Poverty was everywhere. Some were barley scrapping through before and now they had no chance. To ensure that his wishes were carried out, Prince John hired a new Sheriff. No one knew his name, and if they did, they were too scarred to utter it. A sheriff's job isn't necessarily a bad one. It just tends to attract bad people. The kind who takes advantage of their power and quickly makes peoples lives a living hell. This one was no exception but rather a prime example. If people couldn't pay their taxes, the sheriff was all too happy to make an example of them.

When Prince John needed allies, he looked to those closet to him. Robin could only escape for so long. They weren't formally introduced until a few weeks after Richard was gone. Robin received summons to see him and the first thing I said was "you're in trouble." And I meant it. The next thing I knew Robin was waking me up at some god-forsaken time of the night. "Where's the fire" I asked groggily. "Right behind me, I'm being chased by guards." That woke me up. As did the knock on the door. Robin gave me a desperate look as I went to answer the door. "Sorry for the inconvenience sir" the main guard said "but have you seen a hooded bandit in the area."

"Of course not, I've been asleep," I said quickly. "Well let us know if you see or hear anything," he said as I shut the door in his face.

"What have you done?" I yelled at Robin who shushed me while gesturing at the door. "What have you done?" I whispered as loudly as I could while still trying to sound intimidating.

"I may have robbed the palace treasury."

I groaned as I noticed the large sack he had dropped by my bed. Expecting the worst, I peeked into the top. I gaped at the amount he had. "Wow. I mean no, not wow. Why on earth would you do this?"

Robin sighed as he told me "Prince John took me for a ride around Nottingham. Have you been there lately?" I shrugged as I gestured for him to continue. "Well Prince John has run it into the ground. The streets are full of people that he's thrown out of their homes. There are orphans begging for scraps and no one has anything to give because they're about to lose everything as well. So I thought, Prince John however has something to give. I'm just taking what is rightfully theirs and giving it back."

I wanted to choke him and had to stop myself a few times. "How were you not caught?" I asked as I tried to calm myself. "Did you not hear them, I wore a hood." I groaned at his ignorance. "Have you thought about what will happen if you're caught?" He obviously hadn't. "Well now I'm going to Nottingham to hand out this money. Do you want to come?" Rolling my eyes I said, "I guess I'll have to. Try and keep you out of trouble."

To my surprise it became one of the most important nights of my life. Giving that money away, as cheesy as it sounds, gave me the best feeling I had felt in a long time. I could see what Robin was talking about talking about. The Prince was quickly destroying many lives. Their looks of joy at the small money we gave them stayed with me. I knew that this wouldn't be a one-night thing.

Sure enough we quickly got into the habit of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. We quickly grew famous as the hooded bandits. No one knew our identities and we wanted it to stay that way. I knew the hardest part would be for Robin to not tell Marian. She had a special way of knowing when he was lying. We prayed for weeks that the topic of the hooded bandits would never come up. But of course it would. Annie paraded in one day in an extreme huff saying, "those hooded bandits have robbed me. All of my jewellery is gone and my room has been practically destroyed."

I glared at Robin for his solo job who tried to contain his laughter. It was blatantly obvious that this job wasn't for the sole benefit of the poor.

Marian scoffed "don't worry they'll be caught soon." I was insulted but tried to hide it.

"I don't know. They've done pretty well so far," I said, trying to defend us. Robin didn't trust himself to say anything and pretended to be highly interested in the nearest wall decoration.

"They are just some stupid cowards who are trying to get some glory," Annie rudely said while I restrained my fists.

"We have to go" Robin said quickly as he pulled me away. Marian looked confused at his bluntness and Annie looked happy at the prospect of us leaving. I dragged Robin away quickly because I knew that he would try and think of some way to explain to her why he was acting strange and she would see straight through it and we would be through.

We couldn't keep up this charade forever. It still went longer than I predicted. Finally we attempted a job that was too big for us. We were chased right into Prince John and the Sheriff de-hooded Robin. Silence rang through the hall. Robin didn't even acknowledge the Prince and only looked at Marian. The Sheriff took advantage of the moment of shock to de-hood me as well. "So" John happily said, "now we see the kind of man you really are?" The Sheriff slowly drew his sword with a horrible smile on his face. Guards restraining Robin forced him down onto his knees. Prince John continued "I would love a big people ceremony but it seems the people are rather taken with you and I can't risk the public uproar so I'm afraid that this will have to be quick but not painless."

Before the Sheriff could raise his sword one of the guards holding Robin groaned in pain and dropped to his knees. Robin didn't wait to find out why and instead punched the other guard, grabbed his sword and turned to the ones restraining me. The guards were easily defeated but making Robin leave was the hard part. He wanted to go to Marian, to try and explain. I knew we didn't have time. I did get him to run but what I couldn't change was the fact that she ran too. We went different ways as she didn't have the restriction of having to pick the path with the least guards but we met again at the top of the main staircase. Robin gave me a desperate look so I let him talk to her.

Her eyes were wide in panic as she tried to grasp the situation. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked in panic.

Robin struggled to find the words. "Ill let you know as soon I know myself." In the distance we heard the clanking of the guards' uniforms. "I'm sorry Marian but we don't have time. I have to go." She blocked the stairs. "You can't just go." The guards were upon us and making the mistake he regretted for the rest of his life, he pushed her out of the way. It was an innocent enough push but the placement was not the best. Right above the main staircase. She fell. We couldn't go and help her. We had to run.

He tried to see her again but with the amount of guards the Prince arranged, we couldn't get back into the castle for a whole week. We he finally got in he was greeted by Annie. "She's lucky to be alive. Prince John thought that it would be a better idea for her to recover in France. She wont be coming back." And for a final bit of torment she turned to him and said "it was doomed from the start. You were always a useless Saxon and now you're an outlaw. Have a nice life."

No one knew what to say at the conclusion of what I considered to be an epically told tale.

"So you see why I cant see her?" Robin asked, trying desperately to hide the panic behind his eyes.

There was silence in the group.

"Wow," Luke finally said "Allen you have a mean sister."

"Ok I get that you've had a bad past but surely but she can help us find Amelia and Lilly?" Will asked.

Robin knew he would have to see her eventually.

"Fine."

Friar Tuck who had been eavesdropping for some time interrupted us.

"Excellent, because she's waiting for you in the church."

Robin's face instantly changed. I do believe he was scared.


	10. What Scares the Fearless

Chapter ten

I hated seeing Robin like this. The man who faces dozens of guards without fear was scared now.

Friar Tuck lead us back to the church. I should have known Marian would have been in contact with him. He was one our tutors when we were younger and had always been one of our favorites. Even when we were too old for a tutor, we still went to see him.

We didn't have time for the warm greetings that I loved. People's lives were at stake. But I still had the deep urge to give him a big hug. Tuck and Wilfred together, had always created a sort of Father figure to me. Tuck was the caring side while Wilfred taught me to fight; something I imagined most Fathers did or at least, should do.

There was no point telling the gang to stay at camp. There was no way they were missing this. They saw Robin's fear like I did, but rather than joining in my empathy, they were simply intrigued to see who could possible fill the great Robin Hood with such fear. I suppose I would have this fear if I hadn't practically lived the story with him.

We finally got to the church though I could see Robin really didn't want to be there.

He took a deep breath and entered. Everyone began to follow but Tuck stopped them.

"Let them have some time alone" he said.

"But it's going to be so interesting" Luke complained.

The look he gave him made him stop talking.

Thomas, Much and Luke proceeded to fight over who got to put their ear to the door and try and listen. To be honest I wanted to do the exact same thing but I decided to set a better example. And I knew they were stronger than me.

It was quiet. I was expecting a lot of yelling.

My first guess was close. We all heard a loud punching sound and Robin groaning in pain. At the sound of crashing, Tuck and I decided that we had better intervene.

"I'm going in" I decided and rushed inside.

"Stay here" Tuck told the rest and followed me.

The gang looked ready to charge but Tuck always had this look he could give people to scare them into obeying.

I tried to remember the days when they were happy.

The scene that I saw made it hard to remember as I struggled to hold back a furious Marian as Robin stood nursing his already large bruise above his right eye.

"Ok, ok. I promise I wont punch him again," she told me and I stupidly let her go.

I had clearly forgotten her tactics. She proceeded to slap Robin in the face.

"What? I didn't 'punch' him," She told me as he grabbed her again.

Thankfully, Tuck always knew what to say. "Marian, kindly stop acting like a child. I raised you better than that."

Talking about her age was an easy way to control her. She was still very young and hated being called a child. Doing quick calculation in my head, I realised that she must be eighteen now. She looked the same, from what I could see as I restrained her. Still beautiful, her golden curls slightly longer. I only noticed this as her hair kept getting in my eyes as she struggled.

Tuck's plan worked, she stopped struggling and I cautiously released her. She stayed still.

"That was unnecessary" Robin told her "You could have just said you missed me."

She scoffed "missed you? After what you did. I've had the best year of my life."

He was walking on thin ice.

"Its ok to have missed me and to want me back."

She simply glared at him, "we'll have time for your stupidity later. Right now we need to save Amelia and Lilly."

"So, we will have time for things later?" he said smirking.

She ignored him and began to address me. "I know where the sheriff is hiding them. He has a secret dungeon close to his room but I need numbers to get past all the guards."

Robin couldn't leave well enough alone. "So I guess you'll be coming in all that black. Its just you trying to compete with me isn't it. I steal from the rich to give to the poor and you start doing it as well."

"If it were a competition I would be winning. After all I haven't got caught yet."

"Ok stay on task," I cut in.

"Good idea Allen" Tuck told them, deciding to get this whole thing sorted. "Robin, will you and your men help Marian get past the guards and can you both do it without being stupid?"

"I can but he cant" Marian muttered. Tuck's glare made her stop.

"Fine" she agreed.

"Fine" Robin agreed.

"Good, now get going. It'll be light soon and it'll be easier while its still dark."

Tuck pushed open the door and the majority of the gang fell backwards, trying to cover up their obvious eavesdropping.

"I assume you all heard the plan. Well get going. Levon I suggest you go too."

A man steeped out of the shadows, much to the confusion of most of the people present.

"You don't think Marian could really pull off a stunt like the one she has doing without a little help. Levon has been covering her and making appearances now and than so no one suspected anything."

Levon stepped forward eagerly "I've really wanted to meet you Robin Hood. I've seen some of the things you do and it is really great what you do to help all those people."

Marian was glaring at him now.

"Who are you exactly?" Robin asked him, cautiously. He was a good looking man and obviously a kind hearted one if he helped Marian as much as Tuck said. This combination was not what Robin wanted to see.

"Marian's cousin" Levon told him and Robin relaxed. "I've sort of been her double up so she could be seen at the same time and not be a suspect. She did all of the fighting though Not that I'm a bad fighter. Wilfred taught me well. In fact, he arranged this whole thing."

"I knew that he was acting suspicious. Right shall we go" Robin asked, politely offering Marian his arm. She ignored it and stormed off.

"Give me a moment to change," she said "I cant very well go there dressed like this." Levon handed her some black clothes and she slipped into one of the back rooms.

I hung back a little to talk to Tuck. "Things are about to get a little more interesting aren't they?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

Before I knew it we had set off.

Robin meanwhile, ran to catch up with Marian. "So this morning, who was I fighting? You or him?"

"Me, and I was winning."

"You wish."

"If we hadn't been interrupted I would have beaten you easily."

"Could you discuss this later" I whispered as I caught up.

"He's right" Marian said "Sneaking around the castle is not the best time to be debating Robin's crazy idea of adequacy."

"We will have to continue this later" Robin whispered, not so subtly implying that we would see each other later.

"Oh please. After tonight, I'll be happy if I never see you again"

I interrupted again, "Shush, there's guards there."

Robin stepped forward flexing his muscles, "I'll take these ones." She was genuinely uninterested.

"There are only two of them. Piece of cake" she retorted.

"Well why don't you show us what you've got?"

"Easy." Sneaking round the corner she hit the first guard with the hilt of my sword, knocking him to the ground. The other tried to draw his weapon but she kicked it out of his hand and then kicked him in the head. He joined his friend on the floor.

"Adequate" Robin decided, stepping over them men.

But the time for talking was over. We approached the secret entrance to the Sheriffs dungeons. If possible, it seemed that these dudgeons were worse then the others. Thankfully they were a lot smaller and we found the women than we had hoped.

"John!" Amelia cried as we unlocked the door. She raced into his arms and it was one of the moments that people feel awkward watching.

Lilly emerged to and hugged Will. He was happy to see her but still wasn't a 'hugging' man.

"Reunions later, lets get out of here before the guards show up" Matthew said.

"Too late."

We turned to see the sheriff with a few dozen men.

The Sheriff smirked happily. We were right where he wanted us.

"You said you wanted a challenge," I told Robin. Robin smiled in anticipation.

There were eleven of us versus over thirty men. I didn't exactly have time to stop and count. Surprisingly Robin didn't go straight for the sheriff. I thought he was the kind of man who would want the biggest prize. Will had taken the sheriff and was doing surprisingly well. For a larger man, the Sheriff had been blessed with sharp sword skills and Will began to struggle. I didn't have time to stop and watch him.

I could however easily see we were winning.

The sound of fighting was almost deafening. This was always a god sign. The loud sounds I was hearing, was the sounds of metal crashing into the ground as more and more of the guards were defeated.

John was holding back Will at that point. Will was not happy with this and was fighting him violently.

"Let me kill him" he snarled but John refused to let him go.

Robin bested the final guard and one swift motion turned to have his sword a hair's width away from the Sheriff's throat.

"Now Sheriff, you haven't been at all nice to us recently have you? You underestimate us yet again."

The Sheriff chuckled. He enjoyed the small battles. I think this is why neither ever tried harder to kill each other, They would be bored once their aly was defeated.

"Oh contrare Hood. It is you who underestimate me."

And suddenly the loud sound of armor was back. But this was a different variation of the sound. This was the sound of metal as it charged towards us. This time, there was definitely more than thirty.

"Time to run" Benny yelled and thankfully everyone obliged.

Marian decided that she had to run faster than Robin. He could see what she was doing and stepped up his game. They ended up losing the rest of us due to how fast they were going.

It was a draw in the end but I think he would have been going easy on her.

"So, how have you been?" He asked between puffing.

"Stop talking" she replied, wishing his men would hurry up.

He graced with her with a few moments of silence.

"So you're still unmarried, why is that exactly?"

She didn't reply, hoping that he would get the message.

"I guess too many of them had too bigger feet or noses."

It was clear that she wanted to laugh, but held it back.

The rest of us finally stumbled along. Much brought up the rear and took this stopping place as a chance to flop and the forest floor and moan silently at the pain of exercise.

"What happened to you lot?" I asked, finally arriving.

"Friendly competition" Robin told him.

Amelia finally arrived "Marian what are you doing here and dressed like that."

"Nothing." she answered, in her lying voice, clearly not wanting to get in trouble.

Lilly finally arrived. "She's been stealing from Prince John and giving to the poor since she got back."

"Thanks Lilly," Marian muttered.

Amelia was getting angry fast. Marian gave me the 'Quick, someone please distract her' look. I feel it is a good time to mention that Amelia practically raised Marian. As a young woman, Amelia decided that she liked children and decided to become a nanny. She liked to say how Marian quickly changed her love of children. But truthfully, Amelia adored Marian and though of her as her own daughter.

"So what are we going to do with these ladies now they're outlawed and all" John asked, trying to act innocent.

"I guess they can stay with us," Robin decided

"Wait" Much said, jumping up to pace around the women, examining them in a mock formal way. "Can you cook?"

They both nodded

"Can you clean?"

Again they nodded.

"Welcome!" and he hugged them.

"Ok, all this emotion is choking me up" Marian said. "Come on Levon lets go."

Levon hesitated. "Actually I already talked to Robin. He's agreed that I can join the gang."

It was clear that Marian officially hated Robin now.

"Ok first you leave and take Allen with you, leaving me with Annie who is not exactly a barrel of laughs to be around. Then you get Amelia and Lilly outlawed who are some of the only friends I have left and then you take Levon. Why do you hate me?"

Robin laughed "Come on I'll take you home."

"No I want Allen to do it"

Amelia stepped forward to hug her. "if it's not too much trouble, would you be able to bring Lilly and I some of our possessions. It's only that we don't exactly fit these charming male's clothes."

Marian groaned but agreed. "I'll give her directions" I said we left.

"Nice work" Robin told Amelia, "asking her to bring your things. Now she'll be back."

She gave him a sly smile. "Of course that was not my intention. That would be far too sneaky for me." Than she gave him a big bear hug. "It's good to see you again. You've grown up so much!"

Robin tried to pry himself from the hug, ignoring the chuckles from some gang members.

"So do you think she missed me?" Robin asked our newest members. They looked at each other, trying to find the right words. Lilly finally answered, "we could never repeat what was said in confidence."

Amelia continued "but what we can say is that if you want her back, you've got a lot of work ahead of you."

"Well I did say that things were getting too easy around here didn't I Allen?"


	11. Battle of the Bridge

Chapter eleven

29th January 1190

I swear that none of us had ever run so fast in our entire lives.

I knew that today would not be the day that I died.

It was a strong possibility that we had lost them, but I didn't dare look back to check.

The loud panting gave me slight assurance that Matthew and Levon had made it as well.

Finally we reached the bridge. Being the main Merry Man check point, it held an instant feeling of sanctity to me.

All three of us were silent, listening intently for any sign of a sound.

It seemed we were safe.

And then we all broke out in fits of laughter.

"Did you see his face?" I sputtered out between laughs.

Poor Thomas had been the new victim of Merry Man pranks. Sometimes the stress of our constant jobs, we needed a way to relax.

Cruelty is a good way.

I wont say much about our plan. But I will say it involved buckets of cow droppings and the current beautiful woman that Thomas was infatuated with.

Pausing from my laughter, I realised that how exhausted I was and flopped down in my usual sleeping place.

"We have to keep moving," Levon said, barley audible between his puffing. "He will find us and get us back."

Matthew and I shared amused glances. "Listen up new boy," I said, putting on my wisest voice. "We Merry Men, have been playing these tasks since the dawn of time."

"Since last year," Matthew translated.

"And they are a necessity," I continued, "Because we are so damn funny. But we have also learnt that this dangerous game is a cycle. Hence, Thomas is going to hurt us. And it shall at least match what we did to him. But knowing Thomas, whatever he does to us will be worse."

Levon's face was a wonderful combination of fear and shock. "Why would you get me involved in this?"

"Team bonding," I said and closed my eyes to rest before I was punished.

"So we just sit here and wait for him to come get us?"

"No, have a sleep or something."

"How can you sleep at a time like this?"

I scoffed, "battles have been raged on that there bridge and I slept through them just fine."

"A single battle," Matthew said, correcting me. "And it wasn't even a battle. It was a fight. Between Robin and Little John. And they weren't even trying to hurt each other."

I groaned at how everyone was stopping my slumber. "Well back then I didn't know John was friendly. I just saw a giant fighting with my best friend!"

Matthew took pity on Levon's lack of knowledge. "This is where Robin meet John. Allen, tell him the story."

I sighed as I realised that I was no wide-awake. "Fine."

"It was back when we were first outlawed. We were running through Sherwood, from some guards probably. We came across this river and as you can see, it too dangerous to cross. So we searched for a safe way of crossing and eventually found this bridge."

"The problem was the giant standing on the middle of it. "I'm in favour of searching for a new bridge" I whispered. Robin however, strode straight up to him and said "excuse me sir. Did you notice that you're taking up the whole bridge? Kindly move aside and let us pass."

"He didn't budge. "I'm afraid there's a toll. It's a hard time and a man has to eat."

"I'm afraid we have nothing to give" Robin truthfully said. We had already given away all of our spoils. John shrugged as he gestured in another direction, obviously wishing us to go. It was Robin's turn not to budge. "We need to cross sir" he told John, getting annoyed and drawing his sword. John didn't like this and said "now how is that fair sir? You have a sword while all I have is a quarter staff? The only fair way to do this is with equal weapons." Robin shrugged and said "do you by any chance have another quarter staff handy?"

"I quickly pulled Robin to the side. "You're actually going to fight him? Are you mad? Do you want to die?"

"Robin considered my words and against my wishes, took my words as a challenge. So he turned and proudly strode back to face John. "It's been nice knowing you" I said wistfully and prepared to watch them fight.

"I expected the fight to be over straight away. One strong blow for John and Robin would be swept down stream. John put all my strength into the first blow but he didn't expect Robin to be so quickly, easily rolling out of the way. Robin's strength was John's weakness but John's weakness was Robin's strength. The fight continued and both got tired. Their blows and dodges got sloppy. By this point I had gotten bored and had fallen right here. But from what I was told John continued to make forceful blows and Robin continued to dodge them. Eventually a well planned blow on Robin's part shook John's balance. A follow up shot landed him in the water. He didn't go down without a fight though. He grabbed Robin as he was falling."

"The splash was mighty. I was rudely awoken as I was saturated from it. When both men resurfaced, all of their anger seemed to have left them and they seemed to like each other."

"So what is it you do exactly?" Robin asked as they dried off. John gestured to the bridge. "I get more than you would think. Most people aren't as brave or cocky as you mate." With these words he ever so obviously looked at me. "Well Robin seemed to have it under control" I said as I tried to defend myself. He scoffed and went back to talking to Robin."

"Well if you ever get bored of guarding the same bridge, you could always come with us." John seemed rather intrigued. I jumped in telling him "we're going to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Right Prince John's wrongs and all that."

"John thought for a second and burst out in laughter. "You're blokes are crazy" he managed to sputter through his laughter. "Everyone seems to say that" I said rather disappointedly, thinking about how much easier things would be if we had his muscles on our side."

"Still, anyone as crazy as you two should be interesting to do business with" John said as he shook Robin's hand. "I'm in."

I awaited praise for my wonderful story telling but something wasn't right.

We smelled him long before we heard him.

"Gentlemen," Thomas called over to us as he approached. "Have no doubt, I will have revenge. You wont know when this is coming. And it shall be glorious. For me at least. But I also wanted to do something now. A small 'token' of what is to come."

And then we saw her. I gasped. Levon groaned.

"Greetings boys," Annie said with that evil smile on her face. "Did you miss me?"

"Kill me now, Levon whispered.

Annie couldn't wait to tell us each and every little thing that annoyed her. She had always been like that, ever since we were kids. She announced that she was going to accompany s back to camp to see "the squander we lived in.

Marian joined us because she had nothing better to do. I think she had secretly wanted to see camp for a while and when she saw Thomas commandeer Annie, she couldn't wait to join.

That journey was one of the worst I can remember. It didn't take long to realise that I hadn't missed Annie in the slightest. A long time ago, I had developed a skill where I could drone out whatever Annie was saying and focus on any thing else.

In our year apart, I had forgotten it.

The main things I learnt from her complaining were as follows. Robin is a fool. I am a fool for letting myself be lead astray by him. This was just a phase in which we were trying to impress people by being mediocre heroes. Levon was also a fool for leaving. We would all be dead in a few months because we have no skill. She didn't know who Matthew was but she was sure he was a fool too. Thomas smelt terrible and our childish pranks were immature. She had been living a fantastic life ever since we left. As had Marian. She hoped they would both move on soon and never have to see us again. She simply wanted assurance that we were living as terribly as we deserved. This forest was too cold. And it wasn't even a nice looking forest. The trees were not green enough for her liking. This reminded her of the time when we were kids and we had apparently 'forced' her to climb trees with us. This resulted in her falling and she still blamed us for this. Apparently she was injured so badly that is still caused her pain today. Marian was in the same situation because of Robin. When he had panicked and pushed her, there had been long term damage and it hurt her to walk. We had been fools for not noticing the limp. We were fools for many reasons. Especially bringing two innocent women into our lives of despair. She had actually grown slightly fond of Lilly as her maid. At least she didn't make as many other mistakes as other maids did. Plus she was always awake early, which meant that she had extra time to help Annie dress and style her hair. Now she had a new maid who she suspects tries on her jewelry when she wasn't looking. And her feet hurt from all of the walking. And Thomas's smell was getting worse. Didn't we Merry Men know about bathing? Apparently we thought we were too good for common hygiene practices. Our egos were too huge. My head was also quite large compared to the rest of my body." And many other truly fascinating tidbits from the inner mind of bitter battle-ax.

My constant daydream was pulling out my dagger and plunging it deep into either her or myself. Whichever would give me silence earliest.

Finally we reached camp, and finally she stopped talking.

Marian was also silently amazed at what we had accomplished.

Deep in Sherwood Forest, we had made practically a miniature village. It was obviously extremely hard to find. It simply would do to have a weary traveler stumble upon and go running to the guards. We had managed to find the perfect spot long ago. This spot was close enough that we could reach Nottingham and its surrounding towns efficiently but deep enough into Sherwood so that we could live happily without fear of being discovered.

We actually had Thomas to thank. In the beginning, we called camp where ever we stayed the night. To keep from being discovered, we simply continued moving. Thomas grew tired of sleeping on the forest floor and left us constantly to return to his precious tavern. This resulted in the usual conclusion of his drinking too much and staggering around Sherwood the next morning in an attempt to find us. Somehow, he had ended up following the river to it's source. In his drunken stage, he thought he recalled Luke saying that we would meet the next day by a waterfall.

In his drunken stage, he thought is would be a good idea to try and climb around the waterfall while he waited for us. Falling backwards, he discovered the hole behind the flow of water. Later on, those of us who were not extremely drunk, found that you could slip behind the water and entre camp without becoming saturated.

Following the cave he found a clearing. This clearing had plenty of room to house all of us with room to spare.

And so our camp was born.

With our lack of building skills, the buildings we had formed left a lot to be desired. No skills added on to boredom resulted in us building fewer cabins and trying to fit as many gang members in them as we could. But we had still done rather well. There was also a kitchen area as well as a weapon area where we made our arrows and stored swords and bows. Large rocks arranged in a large circle in the centre of camp acted as general seating. Building a bonfire in the middle, and you had a nice social area.

Things were looking up since Lilly had joined us. Much to Will's disapproval, Lilly had been seeing the town carpenter and had learnt many of his skills. She had already began construction of extra cabins and put most of us to shame with her carpentry knowledge.

Overall, I still feel our camp was pretty darn good. And the reaction of the women mirrored this.

Robin had an interesting mixed reaction to our guests. Obviously he thrilled to see Marian, despite her completely ignoring him and going to talk to her new friend Luke, which on a side note, still confused me. I guess they both liked to be mean to people and this helped them bond. Plus, they both had an odd obsession with all things medicinal. They were both would be physicians who had families who couldn't or wouldn't support them through training.

Robin's other reaction was the same as mine upon seeing Annie. Despair.

"I hope you blindfolded her before leading her here," Robin muttered to me. "Please say she doesn't know how to get here again."

I sighed at my stupidity.

Luckily Annie's presence at camp was cut short. Will came running into camp saying, "the Sheriff is transporting slaves through Sherwood. We need to go now!"

Annie sighed and held in whatever cruel thing she intended to say. "Good to see, feel free to never come back," Robin said as she left.

His tone changed when Marian followed. "You however, stop in anytime."

"Keep dreaming," she said, not even bothering to look at him.

"Oh I shall." Then he turned us. "Well, let's get going."


	12. Slavery through Sherwood

Chapter Twelve

The walk to find the Sheriff was just long enough for Luke to indulge in a small amount of moaning.

"We have a problem," he told the few of us that were unfortunate enough to be close to him.

This is the worst saying that could be heard around the Merry Men so we all snapped into attention.

"I cant stand another day of John and Amelia acting so sickly sweet," he said, "if I hear another disgusting pet name I will have to betray you all, go and work for Prince John just so I can have the power to un-outlaw people. When I have this I shall remove Amelia's outlaw status and make John understand that she deserves a better life so she lets her go. Then regain your trust so I can come back without the danger of hearing another sickly sweet pet name and have to kill someone."

By this point everyone had gone calmly back tot their worrying about the slaves.

"Can we make a rule that when someone claims we have a problem, it has to be about a real problem?" Thomas asked, rather annoyed at the false excitement.

"I think that they're rather sweet," Matthew said.

"You would" Luke said, "Is no one else sick of, of their, uh" he struggled to find the words.

"Their being in love" Robin offered.

"You would say that" Luke said, getting annoyed at no one else getting annoyed.

He was preparing for a rather long vent when Will ran over to us and interrupted. "We've found the Sheriff, slightly north from here, on one of the main roads."

"This better not be another false alarm," Thomas complained.

Will looked confused and told us "the sheriff is transporting slaves through Sherwood."

This time we snapped into action and ran behind Will.

The Sheriff was riding in honor in front of the cart, very proud of his position.

"They're speaking French for those less educated fellow members who aren't exactly my equal in academics, namely Will."

He was clearly about to punch me but Robin silenced him.

"They're obviously a gift to the Prince." I noticed, referring to the slaves.

It wasn't going to be easy. There were a lot of guards ensuring their safe delivery.

"We could use an arrow barricade to weaken the guards and then ambush," Benny suggested.

"But these arrows would hurt the slaves" John pointed out.

"So just a simple ambush?" Much suggested.

"They outnumber us. As good as we are, it's still risky", Matthew said.

"Well then Gents" Robin said "time to do some role playing."

As the carts approached they were stopped by a blind man, whose own cart had lost a wheel and fallen off the road. There was no way around so they had to stop their whole procession to move the cart, thus letting their guard down. I loved playing a blind man, I guess I've always been a little dramatic As I said before there were a lot of guards. Too many to require all of them to move a cart. Some wandered off. These were greeted by some well placed merry men who quietly removed them. Here the remaining guards separated. Half helped with the cart and half guarded the slaves. The blind man stayed with the half with the cart and threw some well mixed ingredients that created a cloud of smoke. More merry men now jumped out from trees and attacked these men as they fought to regain their sight. The men guarding the slaves heard the commotion and raced over but were greeted by arrows from the gangs best archers.

Everything went smoothly. We had not death or injury on our side and no death on theirs. Robin doesn't like killing unless we have to and I guess we didn't have to. I personally thought slave traders deserved a lot worse.

Robin had made sure that Will was in charge of the men at the back to keep him as far away from the Sheriff as possible. But of course, Will did his job and then raced straight to the sheriff.

"Remember me?" he asked as he slammed him into a tree.

Even in the face of danger, the sheriff keeps up his evil pretense. "Not in the slightest" he told him "But I do get this greeting quite a lot. It normally means I've killed a member of your family. Did you cry when I did it aye? You look like you would have wept like a pathetic woman."

Will didn't wait for the Sheriff to mock him further and punched him as hard as he could, knocking him out. Will took a second to nurse his sore fist and John took advantage and grabbed him.

"You can't kill him Will" Robin said, trying to calm him. "They'll just get a new Sheriff who will probably be worse."

"How could anyone be worse than this pathetic-"

"Oi!" Matthew yelled at them. "This is not the time." He gestured to the terrified slaves "They're already scared enough."

Will begrudgingly stepped away from the sheriff and Thomas broke the lock, releasing all the slaves.

They all began speaking all at once, very fast and in French. We tried to communicate with a series over elaborate and rather pathetic gestures but we were getting nowhere. Much, doing one of the few useful things he can do, put two fingers in his mouth and let out an ear splitting whistle. Everyone, English and French alike, paused to cover their ears.

Robin took advantage of the brief moment of silence to yell "Everyone pay attention. Benny and Thomas, go and see Wilfred, see what Prince John wants with these slaves. Levon, go and get Marian. We need some one who can speak French, our actions are ridiculous. Does anyone know somewhere safe we can take them?"

Luke suggested the church and it seemed like our best option. So we headed in the general direction, while trying to convince the slave to come too.

We were struggling, they were all scared and this made them want to run in different directions. "Was it wise to send so many men on other mission" I asked Robin "we need more here."

"We've got enough" Robin said, looking around "hang on we've lost one. Where's Roger?" I thought I saw him a little way down the track. "I'll go check" I said, anything to get away from the slaves.

"Allen" Robin yelled after me "don't leave me like this!"

I did find Roger, sitting on the trunk of a tree. His expression was unreadable but the main expression seemed to be shock. "What happened to you? Can't you see us struggling up there?"

He didn't respond. He didn't even look at me. "Are you even listening to me?" I asked, getting annoyed.

I finally noticed he had something in his hand. "Oh no, guards!" I yelled while pointing in the opposite direction. He turned to check and I grabbed the thing in his hand. He fought me to get it back but I had already seen.

"I didn't think you were the kind of man to wear necklaces," I said as I examined it. "Especially ones engraved with the word Polly. Anyone special?"

He snatched it back. "She's my daughter. And she was in that cart."

My mouth fell open. He took advantage of my shock and snatched the necklace back. He glared at me and stormed after Robin. I ran after, full of questions. "No questions" he barked at me "and we're never going to speak of this again."

He was very angry, I didn't try to change his mind.

We had fallen far behind and everyone was at the church by the time we caught up.

Robin and Marian were moving around all the slaves, finding out who they were so they could send them back.

"Who are you" Robin asked.

"Quién son usted" Marian repeated for him.

The slaves would reply something in French, Marian would tell Levon what they said and he quickly scribbled something on some parchment. Tuck was running around, comforting anyone who looked upset with trays of food and drink. Its no wonder he's quite big. Following Roger's gaze I guessed which one must be Polly. It wasn't hard to connect the two. Roger had always been ashamed of his red hair, trimming it as close to his scalp as possible to try and hide it. Sadly, tis act only worsened the condition. Polly had inherited this red hair and she wore it long, braided right down her back. Just by guessing, I would estimate that she was still very young, about twelve or thirteen. It still shocked me how Roger had kept this from us, and how we had never noticed anything wrong with him.

I tried to listen in to what she said to Robin but then I remembered that I couldn't speak French.

I ran up to Marian. "So what's going on with them? Anyone interesting?"

She looked at me, puzzled. "Why are you so interested?"

"I'm just wondering if we have all of them under control. You know, did we get all of their back stories."

"Indeed we did."

"For example" I prompted.

She stopped and turned to me "What exactly do you want Allen. Stop trying to trick me into giving away something."

The game was up. I had to know. "What happened to the red headed girl?

She looked at me disgusted. "She is a little young for you Allen."

I pulled her to the side, away from Roger's vision and whispered "She's Roger's daughter."

She gaped at me and made no reply.

"Tell me" I whispered but getting louder with my annoyance.

"She was sent to France many years ago after…"

"After what?"

"Her father died in a fire. Are you sure…"

"Never mind. Don't mention this again."

Much came running up, yelling for Robin.

"I cleaned up the cart like you said and was heading back to camp when I heard another carriage coming by. It was pretty expensive looking but no guards. I figured that you were close by and you like ambushing carriages."

"Say no more. I'm coming. Anyone else?"

To Robin's surprise Roger volunteered. "Well all these slaves are boring," he told in response to our puzzled looks.

"I'll come if Roger is coming" I said. I wanted some more information out of him.

"When did you two get so chummy?" Robin asked, very confused.

"We're not' Roger said, glaring at me.

Nonetheless the four of us set off as Much lead us back to the carriage.

"Right what's the plan?" Allen asked.

"Right, listen in. It's quite complicated" Robin said and we all leant in.

"We get our weapons."

"Right" I agreed.

"We stop the carriage."

"Uh ha" Much prompted.

"And take the money" Robin finished triumphantly.

"Genius. Truly your most complicated plan to date," Roger decided sarcastically but drew his sword.

Robin shot an arrow so it would land directly over the driver's head. This easily got his attention.

The horse reared, instantly stopping the carriage. The driver almost fell off but saved himself by quickly grabbing the side of the carriage in a death grip. This situation seemed odd to us. No other guards were running out to defend him. No passenger was enquiring about the disturbance. Large windows had been left uncovered by curtains and showed that the carriage was completely empty. Robin tried to not to let this sway him as he approached the driver.

"Greetings friend," Robin said, "we are not brutal men. Kindly show us all the gold you possess and we shall take a fair sum. Lie and we'll take it all."

"I do not doubt you are non brutal men" he told us "so kindly do not doubt me when I say I have no money."

Roger approached the carriage. "This here is very fine wood. It's not the kind of carriage owned by a man who has no money."

"I agree with you," he told us "that is why it is not my carriage. You see I'm working for the sheriff now and he wanted to get through Sherwood without being bothered so he sent me in a good looking carriage in case anyone told you outlaws about the carriages passing through."

Robin gestured to Roger. "Search the carriage."

"Ouch" the man said. "Your lack of trust hurts."

"Well considering you told us you work for the sheriff we have to not trust you. Dishonesty is part of your job description."

"I couldn't just be a man who happens to have a father who is friends with the sheriff and got him a job? And I did turn it down but now circumstances have changed."

"Such as?" Robin prompted.

"Some slaves were taken from France. One was my best friend. I came to help rescue him."

Robin considered. "No I'm not buying it"

"Well I don't buy you as a tough outlaw."

Robin drew his sword, meaning to intimidate him. To my surprise the man drew his. I expected him to run off as Robin did some quick swings which he easily blocked. Robin swung harder. So did he.

"Impressive" Robin told him.

"Likewise" he replied.

"There is no gold in there" Roger yelled out.

"Right" Robin said, awkwardly "You can go now."

"Why thank you. And just so you know, I would have beaten you easily."

Robin tried to stifle his laughter.

"Who are you" Robin called after the quickly disappearing man.

"Guy" he yelled back. "Guy of Gisbourne."

Robin considered "I think I trust you" he finally decided "come with us, we'll take you to your friend."

Roger hung back a little on the way back and I took this as a sign to hang back as well. "Don't you dare mention anything about Polly to anyone" he practically spat at me. I awkwardly looked at my shoes and prayed that Marian wouldn't say anything.

"Well aren't you going to see her?"

"You don't know the whole story. Trust me, she's better off without me, Robin will make sure that she's taken care off." With that he ran up to Robin and said "I think I should go back and inform Amelia and Lilly about what has been going on. In case they worry. You know how Amelia gets about John and such. And honestly, you don't need me at the church."

Robin excused him and he ran off. The coward. What kind of man doesn't want to see his own daughter?

Marian was waiting outside the church, ready to give Robin a big lecture for leaving. "Honestly Robin, every time you get bored and see something more interesting you just love to run off and leave me helpless don't you? The slaves trust you and they panicked when you left. It's been almost impossible to calm them. And another thing-" She stopped abruptly when she saw who was with Robin. "Guy" she exclaimed and threw her arms around him.

The smug look on Robin's face disappeared as he asked "do you two know each other?"

"Guy was my friend in France," she said briefly, with out looking away from Guy. "So what are you doing here?" she asked him. "You didn't give in did you? You swore you would never give in and work for the Sheriff."

He sighed, "I need money" he admitted "and my father really wants me to learn from the Sheriff."

"And you have a kidnapped friend?" I offered.

"Yes and that" he agreed "do you have any slaves in there by the name of Simon?"

She nodded and led him inside.

"I don't like the way he was looking at her" Robin said as we followed them. To be honest, neither did I. He was an extremely handsome man after all. It interested me how he contrasted Robin. Blonde hair in the case of brown, blue eyes rather than brown etcetera. It would be impossible to choose the better looking man but I knew that this Gisbourne had a lot more in his favour excluding physical appearances.

Before long Gisbourne was talking to all of the slaves and even had them laughing at some story he was telling. He had me wishing that I had listened in my French lessons. Robin was clearly not happy at how much everyone liked him. And when I say everyone, I mean Marian.

I think Robin was almost glad when the Sheriff finally made an appearance with all those guards. Anything to separate Marian and Guy.

The door crashed open, resulting in a sudden spur for weapons while the slaves huddled together in terror. Tuck dropped his current platter of food with an almost defeating clatter as it was followed by a long moment of painful silence.

The Sheriff gestured for his guards to hold back and came forward to address Robin. "Hood, you have had your fun. Now kindly return my slaves."

Robin gestured for his men to line up and prepare to fight. "I'm afraid I cant do that," Robin told him "so it comes to this."

"What are our orders Sheriff?" one of the guards asked with an evil smile on his face.

"Retrieve them" the Sheriff replied "at any cost."

Guards charged and we charged straight back. To my surprise, Gisbourne was fighting right alongside us. Marian too. It was hard to notice this however, people were fighting everywhere and no one was paying attention to anyone but their fighting partner. This was short of Robin of course. If anyone on the opposing side got to close to Marian, Robin would take care of them. The Sheriff left at the start if the fight, probably the second he saw Will. With John and Robin too busy to restrain him, the sheriff didn't like his chances. Even Will seemed to forget him in the crazed mess of fighting. The slaves helped and it turned out that many of them were actually skilled fighters, which is probably why they were chosen. With their help, it seemed that we could win easily.

I heard yelling and turned to see blood. A lot of it. It seemed a guard had gone for Gisbourne who had not been looking. His friend, Simon, had leapt in front to defend his friend and died a few seconds after the sword penetrated into him. Gisbourne was no longer aware of the fighting and only focused on his friend as he pointlessly tried to stop the bleeding. Marian pulled him away while he struggled all the while.

We didn't have time to dwell on him and had to go back to the fighting. We had a good lead now and quickly defeated the remaining guards. "I have friends in France who can help these people" Marian quickly told Robin she gave him a letter. "Tuck organised a ship, it leaves at sunrise. Get them on that ship with this letter and my friend will take care of the rest."

"I'll take care of it," he said but she was already walking away. Clearly, the only thing on her mind was Gisbourne.

"Is it just me or was he really enjoying that that attention?" Robin asked me as we walked to the docks.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "His friend just died," I informed him.

Robin shrugged and we walked on. "Anyway I thought you trusted him?" I said and he ignored me. To be fair, I didn't trust him either.


	13. The Rather Helpful Musician

We met Michael in early May of that year. He would prove to be one our more loyal gang members.

Michael has told me many times what his first thoughts were when he arrived in Nottingham. "Observe England's most thriving town. It looks pretty dead to me."

In all fairness, a year ago it was thriving. But town requires trading, and trading requires people to have possessions or money to trade.

Michael used to work with a blacksmith in York but was fired for his laziness and his ability to be distracted by the smallest thing. So he just travelled, playing his music that no one listened too.

A few children were playing on the side of the square. So he began to play for them. He pulled out his flute and began piping a happy melody. The children's faces lit up and they began dancing. It amused Michael how no adult would ever do this, they worry about too many things to just find joy in dancing.

Speaking of grumpy parents, quickly the parents of the children took the children away, with harsh words or wasting time. Still Michael played on; basically he had nothing better to do.

Marian was intrigued by him, mainly because she hadn't seen a street musician since she was a child.

"The parents were probably scared of you, musicians who think they can make money on the streets must be crazy" she said as she approached him.

"They're not crazy if they're talented" he retaliated.

"See what I mean, crazy."

"Crazy with talent! Anyway, what do I care about some uptight parents who are simply jealous of my skills? I'm Michael by the way."

"Marian. And you're actually pretty good. Maybe. If you like that sort of thing."

"I take it you don't?"

"At times."

"Like now?"

"Maybe."

Finally, the indulged in some conversation where the sentences were longer then a few words. After all, she had no wish to return to the castle and he had nothing better to do. They quickly knew each others back stories as Marian was surprised at how easy he was to talk to.

He talked to her for the rest of the afternoon. It was completely innocent but apparently someone didn't think so."

"You know street musicians are crazy right?"

Marian's happiness dropped as she turned to see Robin, Levon and myself walking up to her. Levon and I were insulted by this disappointed glance, even though we knew that it wasn't aimed at us. Robin however had grown accustomed to it over the last few months. Five months and twelve days actually. Yes, I was keeping count but only because I was astounded at how long Marian was keeping up this act of not being in love with Robin.

"Who are you?" Michael asked, sensing that he was someone important.

"Robin Hood. I normally ask for money but being a street musician I know you have none."

"Nice, make a joke of my profession."

"You call it a profession now?"

"More then what you do."

The silence that followed was hilarious. It was filled with Robin trying to decide whether he was angry or amused while the rest of us tried not to laugh.

"I like you" he finally decided. "You have guts."

"So do you."

"It appears that we have gained a mutual companion," Levon said.

"That conclusion seems to be accurate," I agreed.

"Will you two shut up?" Robin said.

Lately, Levon and I had invented a sort of 'game' around camp where we use the biggest words we possibly can to rub in the fact that we have been educated and the others members haven't. It worked like a charm too, it drove most of them insane and it was almost like the two of us have a secret language, although a lot of the time our words just become gibberish.

We were then rudely interrupted by guards thinking to arrest Robin.

"May I suggest we leave this establishment?" Levon said.

"I would say that would be legitimate suggestion," I agreed.

"I do enjoy our little talks" Robin told Marian as we prepared to run. To our dismay they had blocked the exits.

"It appears that your previous suggestion is now void" I said, drawing my sword.

"Well on that assumption-" Levon began.

Robin interrupted with "now is not the time for your incoherent babbling."

We didn't have time to think of a fancy way of saying how he was simply jealous. It seemed we were trapped.

The situation was quickly getting out of control. There was three of us versus twelve guards. Robin was good but he was starting to lose control.

Marian was amused that he was losing for once. "He'll pull through any second, don't worry yourself." She whispered to Michael "for now, just enjoy it."

But Michael did worry. There were two many guards. He knew he had to help us.

Without thinking, Michael grabbed a sword from a fallen guard and joined us.

"I told you street musicians are crazy," Robin told him.

"That we are" and Michael turned and began to attack to guard closest to him.

Marians face was priceless as she saw another of her friends leave her to help fight with Robin but there was no time to dwell on it.

We were doing pretty well until a lucky blow struck Michael down. I saw Prince John approaching with even more guards.

"Go" he yelled to Robin but he wouldn't move.

"Go you fool" he yelled more insistently and Robin finally got the message and ran.

Michael felt himself losing consciousness. He only remembered flashes of the following moments.

Prince John demounting as Michael contemplated how nice his shoes were, Marian yelling something, probably about his innocence and finally, being strung onto a horse and being told of the cold and damp dungeon that awaited him.

Marian watched them pull Michael away and said to herself, "he is not getting away that easy." She grabbed a horse, threw some coins at its owner and rode after Robin.

He seemed to have taken a funny route back to camp as she didn't see him and beat him back to camp.

"Where is he?" she asked as she stormed in.

"The love of your life?" Luke asked.

"Yes, I mean no, I mean, where is Robin?"

"Not back yet. No need to fret. You'll only have to miss him a little longer."

"Thank you Luke. I get enough of that talk from him."

"I know but seeing how mad it made you inspired me." He replied, smiling with false innocence.

"I hate you"

"I hate you more."

They joked but Luke had also fallen under Marian's spell. This resulted in being unable to dislike her. Even Luke, one of the most antisocial members of the Merry Men became one of her closest friends.

Finally Robin returned. "You move fast," he informed her.

"Well spotted. You are aware that you cannot let that man die"

"Of course I wont let him die. We'll go get him tonight."

"Oh." she was ready to give him a giant lecture but that was a lot easier then she expected. "And after you save him?"

"He can continue making useless music to his heart's content." Robin guessed.

"He'll be outlawed, he can't simply go back to his old ways." Levon told him.

"Can someone please explain to the rest of us exactly what is going on?" Thomas asked as he and the other members who had not been present tried to follow the scene. We didn't bother.

"Not everyone we save becomes an outlaw. It's not like he has a home and family here. All he has to do is lie low for a few months and all shall be forgotten." Robin decided.

"I was thinking…" Marian began.

"I hate when she does that" Luke cut in.

"I was thinking," she continued, louder this time, "that he could join your gang."

Robin considered, "What if we don't want him. He was struck down in battle quite easily."

Marian couldn't believe this, "You're only saying that because I suggested it and you enjoy ruining my life. You said you liked him."

"I like a lot of people. Doesn't mean I ask them all to join my gang. Tell you what, I'll let him join, if you kiss me."

The look of disgust on her face made everyone laugh.

"I'm not that bad am I?" he said, pretending to be hurt

"I'm not doing it," she bluntly said,

"Then I guess your friend will just live a miserable existence which will be all your fault. You'll feel guilty for the rest of your life every time you think of his pathetic life that you inadvertently helped create."

"Will no one stop this injustice?" she asked, mocking the way Robin speaks to crowds.

"It's one kiss, it wont kill you" Levon said grinning.

This was a mistake. Her anger became directed at him as she turned and prepared to yell. "I suggest you stay out of this because I am still mad at you for coming to this pathetic gang and leaving me. So if you like your face the way it is, stop talking."

He stepped back and wouldn't look away from the ground.

"Amelia are you going to let his talk to me like that" she said as she hoped that Amelia would tell Robin to stop being immature.

"What the big drama? You used to kiss him all the time."

Marian just glared at her. "But-" She could see she was fighting a losing battle.

Robin just smirked, knowing that she was going to give in.

Knowing that she had no choice, she showed what a sore loser she was and slapped him as hard as she could.

"Fine I'll do it." She told him.

"Why" he whimpered nursing his face.

"You were being rude," she informed him. "So what's the plan?"

"Sneak into the castle in the dead of night, get past the guards, get him back and run like there's no tomorrow." I said.

"Original."

"I thought so."

"Can I come?"

"You'll slow us down, being a pathetic girl" Luke added

"That's your job." she retorted

"Actually its Much's" he decided. Everyone agreed.

"Hey!" Much protested but offered no retaliation. He knew seemed to have accepted his fate as the gang joke.

"But back to the kiss" Robin said, having finally recovered from the slap but was smart enough to keep his distance this time.

Marian stormed off and yelled "when the job is done."

When Marian finally got back to the castle she was ambushed by Annie with all of her annoying questions. "You were with them again weren't you?" or "Why do you spend so much time there" or "He's sucking you back in isn't he? Remember what he did." Her voice got more hysterical with each question.

"Calm down. Yes I with them. It wasn't a social call. We were organising saving a mans life and…"

Marian murmured the rest.

"You what?"

She did more murmuring.

"Come again?"

"I have to kiss him!" Marian yelled, gaining some strange looks from passing servants.

Annie gave her a look of disgust, kind of the same one that Marian herself had given Robin and stormed off without another word.

Marian knew that Annie would be back before she could count to three to get all the information and to talk her out of it.

"Three, two, one" she murmured.

"How on earth did this happen and why are you doing this, have you forgotten…"

At that point Marian stopped paying attention. Annie wasn't saying anything that hadn't already gone through her head many times.

Back at camp, Robin was making intricate plans to ensure that nothing went wrong during the rescue. It shouldn't have been so amusing, how excited Robin was. It just shows how much a man can achieve when he gets something out of it.

I tended to avoid conversation about Marian. She was my cousin after all. More like a sister really. It's been great having her around again though I could do without the constant arguments they have. It'll be a wonderful day when she stops being stubborn and admits she loves him.

"Three guards, ready and armed" Robin whispered.

Much instantly panicked and dropped his sword, making a loud clang.

"I guess that rules out waiting till we're ready," John said as the guards were alerted by the noise and ran towards us.

There was no need for panic. Robin threw me the rope and we both pulled on our ends, tripping the guards as they came, a trick I proudly thought of. We then set Little John loose to make sure they didn't follow us.

"Lucky we have the advantage of Prince John thinking that this man isn't that important to us." Benny said happily as we saw that no other guards were hiding in wait.

"Oh he's very important to me," Robin said, causing me to give him that look. The look that said 'I know you love her but don't say such thins in front of me. She is still my cousin.'

He gave me the 'I don't care what you think because I am in love and you can learn to deal with it' and continued on.

"Ill take the next guards" Much decided, trying to gain back some dignity.

Everyone ignored him except for the rather loud scoff from Roger. "I think we're better off not having you try and staying alive" he added.

Much was quickly getting angry. "I am not the worst one here."

"You had better not be implying me," Benny said, also getting angry. "I'm easily better then you despite how old I may be."

"Well then why don't we put it to the test" Much said trying to look tough.

"Not now" Robin whispered loudly, indicating how loud they were getting.

Robin was too late and guards were approaching.

"Split up!" Robin yelled.

I wanted to be with Robin, my chance of survival easily goes shooting up when he is around but no such luck. When people panic they always chose the easiest exit and I did just that, choosing the passage way I say closest to me. The men who followed were Matthew which I was fine with, and Much, which I was not.

"I would have taken him down" Much tried to persuade us as we ran.

"Sure you would" I told him, trying to hide my sarcasm.

Unfortunately the passage we had chosen didn't lead us anywhere near the exit. It did however lead us to the dungeons.

"Well, we're here anyway" Matthew said, indicating we should be hunting for Michael.

"Interesting, as none of us know what he looks like and we don't know where in the whole humongous dungeon he is and-"

"Shut up Much!" Matthew yelled, shocking us all. "Is there any thought that goes through your head that you don't voice? We all have doubts but we are the kind of people who have faith."

Much was thankfully silent. I wanted to congratulate Matthew on his efforts but it didn't seem the right time. So we progressed through the dungeon, asking the men their names and questions that only Michael would know. It never fails to surprise me the things prisoners will say to get out. Today we don't have time to save them all. It takes a lot of work to figure out how the real innocent ones are. All the while I was still awestruck at Matthews outburst. He was always so calm and collected. I was beginning to consider that he had swapped places with Luke. I was still proud of the man. I always thought he had a back bone. He just didn't know how to use it.

"What are you three doing here?" someone called out and we were all alert. Thankfully it was just Wilfred. "You're going to get yourselves killed" he informed us as I ignored his words and hugged him. "Allen, kindly get off me" he said, pretending to be annoyed but hugged me back. "Now you all have to go, you'll get caught. Your plans are getting too out of control."

"So what are you doing down here?" Matthew asked.

That stopped him. "Doing what guards do best. Guarding. After all that, that is all I'm good for apparently." I sighed as I knew we were in for yet another lecture about his so called tragic past.

I quickly cut in, "yes we know Wilfred. You used to be a knight favored by King Henry. Unfortunately his son Richard didn't favour you so much in your old age and demoted to pointless work. Your only joy was teaching me, and Robin and Marian. But mainly me. And now we don't bother to thank you for all the hard work you put into our futures and we only come to you when we need something. Does that about cover it?"

He glared at me but thankfully stopped his speech.

Luckily he knew exactly where Michael was and had a description from Marian. We still had to ask a few people and finally got the answer we were looking for."

"I am Michael"

We turned to address the man. Matthew took the lead in questioning him. No one objected. To be honest we were both scared of this new side of him, no matter how much we were impressed by it.

"Where were you yesterday?"

"Nottingham market place."

"Who were you talking to?"

"Lady Marian"

"Who did you help fight?"

"Robin Hood"

Matthew gave a nod and I gave his lock heavy swing with my sword. The noise rang around the dungeon so we had to move fast. I could see the look of triumph on Much's face at being in the group that found Michael. I think I saw a look of triumph on Matthews face too, though he tried to hide.

It's always the quiet ones you have to look out for.

Robin was ecstatic when they returned with Michael. "It's good to see your alive mate," he told Michael as they greeted.

"Happy to see me alive?" Michael questioned with a knowing smile "or happy for your reward?"

"How could you accuse me of such a thing?" Robin asked indignantly. "My only thought was for you life."

"Allen told me everything," Michael told him. Robin just smiled.

I figured that it was my duty to take Michael under my win as no one had really done it for me.

"Here's what you need to know" I decided to tell him the main points about the gang rather then their whole long stories.

"Much is annoying, handle with care. He has some big father issues. Luke gets grumpy easy, also watch your words. Matthew was the nice one until a few days ago I hear but we haven't heard a peep out of him since. He's generally the nice one though. Avoid Thomas in the morning, he likes his ale. Will likes fighting, don't give him a cause to fight you. All he really does is train so he will probably take you down easily. Levon is one of the nice ones so he is safe. Amelia is a sweet heart as long as you don't make to bigger mess. Lilly is shy, you wont see her often. Robin is obviously the leader, I'm sure you figured that out. Don't question his authority, he doesn't like that. Other wise, enjoy!"

He stared at me, "could you repeat that please?"

Marian finally turned up, much to everyone's excitement.

"As you can clearly see, he is here, safe and ready to join." Robin told her.

"From what I hear you didn't even save him, Matthew and Wilfred did. Much and I was full of indignation with their lack of recognition while Matthew tried to hide his pride.

"Be that as it may, our bargain wasn't about me saving him, it was about me allowing him to join the gang. Which I let him do"

Things were getting awkward. The gang should really leave but there was no chance of that.

Marian glared at Robin but new she had to do it.

And they kissed.

It was one of those moments where we felt obligated to look away. It felt like trespassing watching it.

Surprisingly they were kissing for quite a while. I expected Marian to be pull away right away but she didn't.

Eventually she did. There was an awkward silence. "The things I'll do for friends," she said and stormed off yelling at Michel how he'd better appreciate this.

Robin was still silent. He turned to us, "One day, I'm going to marry that girl."

The gang rolled their eyes and left the poor love struck man.


	14. First Blood Spill

Life continued on. In the middle of June, I recall that Levon and I were sent to Wilfred for information.

I recall that I was not very happy about this.

"I've been in the gang second longest. That's far longer then everyone else apart from Robin himself so why am I sent to do the easiest job?"

"Everyone in this gang thinks they're too good for everything." Levon decided.

"They're not, but I am."

Levon just smiled and stopped the debate. He never looked for a fight and avoided the few that he did accidently stumble upon. This made him a wonderful addition around camp after so many members who loved to prove their manliness with a few misplaced punches. This difference had not gone unnoticed. The spy in me believed that he had gained quite a following amongst the females of England. Even in our own camp. Lilly seemed to give him a few extra glances.

To an outsider, Lilly seemed reserved and almost quiet but I knew she was simply above the average Merry Men conversation. A normal discussion involved weapons or fights if you were lucky. Lilly was the sort of woman who would easily discuss politics or religion. I loved discussing these with her but didn't often have time, what with other plans to be made. Levon became an equal partner and I watched them closely, wanting to be the first to know about any change in their relationship.

I questioned Levon about this constantly, including on the walk to see Wilfred. His answer stayed the same. He "respected her too much to hurt her."

What he meant by this, I do not know. I will have to remember to question him again in the future.

Wilfred pretended to groan upon our approach but I could tell he was happy to see us. He was a social man and loved any kind of interaction. He greeted us in bored tone, asking "What do you want from me today? No one just stops in to say hello anymore don't try to lie to me."

"We need information about when Prince John is sending off the tax money and where," Levon told him.

"One day, some of you will stop by for a conversation about something I don't need to help you with"

I continued "Be that as it may, we…"

He was interrupted by an arrow that narrowly missed his head. Wilfred quickly drew his sword to pretend to be fighting us.

"Don't bother Wilfred."

It was none other then Prince John. "I've known I've had a spy for some time but I always trusted you old friend."

Guards came rushing in and quickly grabbed us.

"My Lord I assure you…"

"Don't bother. I've been watching you for some time. You will be executed for this."

"Well then I get to finally say what a terrible ruler you are. You think you make your choices for the good of the people but it is only for your own selfish reasons."

"That's enough." Say what you like about Prince John, he was still a terrifying man. With a few words, delivered in the appropriate ominous tone, he could easily silence a room. He hadn't been talking to us, but Levon and I still froze as well as Wilfred. The guards also seemed suddenly incapable of sound.

I could see that the Prince enjoyed the effect he had created. He paused to purvey the scene. "I couldn't care less what you think of me Wilfred. And I've learnt from my mistakes. I could lock you in the dungeons and wait for Hood to save you. Or…"

He grabbed his sword and rammed it into Wilfred's side.

Levon and I watched in horror as Wilfred crumpled and fell to the floor.

Fighting off his guards, Levon ran forward, but not before John had stabbed Wilfred again.

I wasn't thinking logically. My mentor and friend was dying and I wanted revenge. I went straight for the Prince who easily blocked my advances.

Levon was thinking a little more logically and carefully lifted Wilfred, thinking to carry him to safety.

Thankfully the guards seemed to be decent men. Or at least, decent enough to allow us a head start. They simply stood there, either to shocked to act or simply awaiting instruction from Prince John.

"Allen let's go!" he yelled at him but my anger stopped him from hearing him. Levon knew that he had to get Wilfred out of the line of fire and carried him to a room on the side. He was no physician but knew that you had to stop the bleeding. The problem was, there was so much blood he couldn't' see where it was coming from.

"Block the door," I yelled to Levon who was already in the act of slamming the door shut. Prince John simply laughed. He knew we were trapped and was willing to wait.

My thoughts were not on him. They were only for Wilfred as I tried anything to stop the bleeding.

He panted out "Don't bother son. I guess this is the end."

"Don't say that," I said, holding back tears.

Levon hovered by the door. I hated his lack of activity. It showed me that he believed all hope was gone.

"It's all right," Wilfred said, slowly as he struggled for breath. He didn't seem panicked though. He was in an eerie state of peace. "I lived to see you and Robin become the best men you could have been. And I can die knowing that I had a part in that. So thank you."

I laughed. It was a strange laugh. There was no humour behind it. "I cant believe that you are thanking us. After all you have done. We took you for granted."

Now he laughed. "Typical. You figure this out, right before I die. Tell about something. Anything. Just nothing work related. I'm sick of you men talking to me just about work. No one just stops to say hello anymore"

"Um" I struggled to think. "Robin and Marian kissed a few weeks ago. I remember when the two of us used to gamble how long it took for them to admit their feelings all those years ago. Well, neither of bet this long did we? To be fair, the kiss was under duress but neither of them seem to mind."

He struggled out a laugh but stopped with a look of pain.

His smile remained. Even when his breathing stopped.

Robin wouldn't believe us.

Levon was the one who told him. I couldn't say anything.

He was always there. He couldn't just be gone.

Wilfred had been so much more than a trainer to us.

Robin couldn't take the looks of sympathy they were all giving him.

"I'm going out," he decided.

"Where?" Lilly asked, trying to calm me down.

"Somewhere."

And he ran. He didn't know where he was going until he was half way there. It took longer to get there then before, but then again he did live at the castle before. He looked upon the place where we had trained. Where Wilfred had trained us.

It was in the older part of the castle. The part where no one lived anymore, thanks to the construction being very temperamental. Large holes were scattered across the walls with no hope of being covered. Vines and other mould grew all over these, adding to the run down look of it all.

Long ago, we found the place magical. It created easy portals to our lands of imagination to fulfill our childhood fantasies. Later, it became an ideal training spot. No one ever came here. The found of swords was never a worry as we clanged away. Even the enormous sound of Annie's moaning could not be heard as Robin, Marian and I were transformed from clumsy oafs with swords and bows.

The fighting had always been for fun then. Whenever Robin and Marian went against each other, they both came out laughing. We could never tell who the more skilled was. I would still bet on Robin, as I was sure he always let her win. I would only ever fight them when they were extremely tired so I could stand a chance.

We had no worries then. None of us would have thought the future would be like this. We never even thought of the future. If we had, it wouldn't have been like this.

The old tree in the middle of the courtyard had little marks all over it. These were the tallies Wilfred had used to show who was doing best at their skill. Even then Robin had the most. That was because of Wilfred.

Robin ran his fingers along these marks, seeing how they grew more defined as the tree went on. His marks grew more constant and were clearly drawn with less of a flourish as Robin's triumphs became less exciting.

A forgotten practice shield lay abandoned by the roots of the tree. Robin picked it up, noticing each scratch and chip as we had hacked away at them. In anger, he flung the shield as hard as he could into the nearest wall.

As the crash echoed away, Robin heard footsteps.

He turned to see Marian behind him. She knew exactly where he would be.

She didn't need to say anything. She just hugged him. She cried too.

Eventually they headed back to camp and Robin's mind was made up.

"I'm done," he told everyone.

We were all puzzled. "With what?" Benny asked.

"All of this" he said "All I've done is help people and all that happens is I lose more and more and more people close to me."

"But Robin-" John started to say.

"You're one to talk John. What would you have done if we didn't save Amelia in time? And what about you Will? I've lost my whole life. Then Marian. Now Wilfred"

No one dared add that Marian was still alive. They all knew what he meant.

"But what about all the poor?" Much asked. "Are you just going to abandon them?"

Robin ignored him. He didn't care anymore.

I couldn't stand another second of this. "And what about all those years of training Wilfred gave you? Imagine how angry he would be if you were ignoring it? There was a purpose in that training. He knew you would need them one day and now that day is here. And you're just going to throw them away. You were always preaching to everyone else, think with your head, not with your heart. We all have losses. The difference is that the rest of us don't think the world stops because of them. These are the destinies we were given. Do with it what you wish"

And with these words, Robin stormed off, being unable to stand another second.

"Only one thing we can do now," Thomas said, pulling his flagon from his belt and taking a deep swig. Friar Tuck, who had stopped by to try and help out, obviously disapproved of this. With a small flick of his hand he sent the flagon flying which splattered it's contents all over the forest floor. Thomas sported a look of pure horror to which Tuck lifted his cross and pointed upwards, indicating the Lord's disapproval of such actions. Thomas said something very unholy under his breath which Tuck ignored.

I knew Robin needed to be by himself.

Of course, Marian never cared what he needed.

"So are you just going to sulk?" she asked.

"Probably. But when did you start caring about what I did?"

"When it started affecting England."

He had no answer. He was just getting sick of how it was all on him.

"I know what you're thinking" she continued. "You're getting sick how it all comes down to you."

"How do you do that," Robin asked, "It's unnatural."

"You didn't ask for this but you feel you have to keep going even though you're sick of it and wish someone else could do it. Well they can't. I don't ant to get all religious here but you were given your gifts for a reason."

"What is with everyone being so preachy today" he grumbled.

"And I know what you're thinking about me." She continued. You think you lost me because you left to become England's most famous outlaw."

He was suddenly listening very intently.

"I wasn't mad at you for that. To be honest I was jealous actually. I'm angry at you for not taking me with you."

Then followed a very awkward silence as I desperately tried to think of something to say.

"Don't say anything"

Robin was getting a little sick of her reading my mind.

She continued, "Unless it's saying that you're going to go back and stop acting like a child. If you're really going to throw all this away then you threw me away for nothing to and I cant believe I meant that little to you."

He couldn't help but smile. She had a way of always making people doing whatever she wanted. It was cute as a child but now it could be dangerous.

"I'm going" he told her, hands up in surrender.

"Going to apologize?" she prompted me.

He sighed. "If you say so."


	15. The New Hero of Archery

In my early days of being an outlaw, I kept a journal. This has served me well with many a recollection. I suspect that the next event I recall will be better told with a simple extract form the said journal

.

.

.

13th July 1190

If I die here, let it be known that I, Allen A Dale was a good man.

I fear my time approaches, though I never thought that my death would be of this cause.

Boredom.

Don't worry, I will explain.

On this particular night, I was assigned to a simple castle thievery. Prince John enjoyed pretty things and Benny and I darted unseen from room to room, snatching trinkets and anything else we considered of value.

Everything was going well until we heard voices and the clanking of armor coming towards us at a great speed.

Panicking, we both ran. Unfortunately this was in different directions.

Of course, I ended up in the room that was soon occupied by Prince John.

Luckily I had leapt in a wardrobe.

He didn't suspect me. I had just stupidly hidden in Prince John's office.

So that is how I ended up here. Fascinating, right?

Try being stuck in here for what must have been half the night by now.

In my flurry to leave camp, I had flung my journal in my satchel so at least I had something to do. From the small crack of light between the door of the closet, I had enough light to see the page and set up my inkwell.

So do not judge me if my handwriting is rather shocking.

Someone just came in the room. He or she didn't say anything. Probably due to Prince John instantly telling them, "don't you dare talk to me."

My protective instincts kicked in at what the Prince said to the person. It was something along the lines of, "I brought you to England for one purpose and one purpose only. Yet still there are no results. I have a deep plan in store and Robin Hood will never see it coming. Right now, that is only because there is nothing to see! Stop wasting my time and show me some results! Now get out. I can't stand the sight of you."

No other clues were given after the door gently closed. Prince John let out a deep sigh of frustration and then there was silence again.

This created a deep sense of unease in me. Prince John had a lot of skills and cunning was unfortunately one of them. If he had a plan, we need to know about it.

And I can't do a lot of good stuck in this bloody wardrobe!

The door opened again and I prayed it would be the mysterious figure from before. I was extremely disappointed when I heard the Sheriff's voice saying "My Lord, we must leave for Nottingham town as soon as you are ready."

"I hate Nottingham. Especially those damn Saxons." He spoke calmly but his words were still filled with hatred.

"You don't strike me as a man who yearns to be liked," the Sheriff told him. "Life is more fun that way."

Prince John ignored him and made a slamming noise. ."Read it," he said as I assumed the item was a letter.

The sheriff hesitated, worried before I heard footsteps. The silence of his reading was broken when he sputtered out laughter. "You truly care if one French Lord is pulling out of his alliance to you? The man is a fool if he puts your peoples opinions of you ahead of his own."

John glared at him. "Others will follow. People think of me as some kind of horrible tyrant."

There was an awkward silence as I, and probably the Sheriff, held back our laughter.

The sheriff was confused. "Do you really care what the people think of you?"

"No I care about what other people think of what other people think of me as long as those people are influence so they keep on giving me money."

The world made sense again.

The Sheriff looked around at his extravagant surroundings. "Well if we wish to keep living like this, the people will never like us."

As silently as I could, I crept forward to put my eye to the crack in the door. I could see that the Prince was pacing the room, deep in thought.

"Well then I'll settle for the next best thing," Prince John decided. Suddenly turning, with a great gust of energy he flung a dagger at the wall. It easily hit his target. A wanted poster with Robin's face smirking at the Prince. "How is it possible that after all this time, you have still not succeeded in killing him," Prince John roared.

Any normal man who sputter with fear as they racked through possible excuses to cover up their failure. The sheriff merely waited for the Prince to calm down to reply.

"We've tried in depth plans involving messing with his head and heart. We've tried straight forward have people murder him plans. Nothing works."

"Is this what I pay you for?"

The Sheriff simply placed a flyer on the table in front of the Prince. "I simply suggest that, instead of trying to chase Hood, we let him come to us. This could also be a way to help your problem of the lack of loyalty from your people. Trust me."

"Surely you don't think Hood is that stupid?"

"I do not. But I think his pride will make him come anyway."

The rest of their conversation was not interesting to write down.

Just as I feared that the feeling would never return to my legs, Prince John deemed fit to leave.

Once I was sure he was gone, I flung the doors open and sprawled over the ground, praising the Lord for the gift of space and fresh air.

Before I left, I stopped by the table to see the flyer.

I knew that we were in deep trouble.

"There's going to be an archery contest," Benny yelled as he got back to camp.

Tuck, who had been walking with us, put a stop to everyone's excitement by continuing "which you are not going to enter."

Robin looked more excited then he had in months. He was not going to let Tuck spoil his fun. It was well known through out England that Robin was the best archer. This didn't stop his need to prove it. Before we were outlawed, he entered every tournament possible; just to prove to everyone that no one could best him. He loved the feeling of glory. I still think that this was an influence to becoming an outlaw.

So obviously he just disregarded Tuck's comment. "Tuck, you always taught me not to make assumptions. Now don't you think that you are being a little presumptuous here?"

"Well it's obviously a trap."

Robin shrugged as he tested the strength of his arrow. "Isn't that half the fun?"

Tuck sighed. "You're pride will be the death of you know." Robin, growing bored of the conversation had begun to practice. Quickly whirling around he took his first shot, right at my head. Of course he was aiming for my hat but this didn't make it any less scary at the time. I still felt the arrow whoosh past my head as it took my hat with it, finally hitting a tree.

"Thanks" I muttered to Robin as I removed it and stuck my finger through the hole. "You owe me a new hat."

"You're pride could easily be the death of you," Tuck said, sighed at Robin's stupidity.

"Easy, you're starting to sound like Marian," Robin said; referring to her hatred of his pride, despite her own much larger helping of it. "And I never miss."

Finally he decided on his next target and drew his arrow towards another clump of merry men. These weren't as slow as me and all dodged out of the way before he took his shot. He enjoyed the fear and began to hunt for a new target.

"He'll never stop," Much said, trying to regain some dignity after sprawling on the ground to avoid Robin's shot. "I say we let him enter the tournament or he'll never stop using us as targets."

He was right. Robin raised his bow and everyone covered their heads as they cowered.

Tuck threw up his hands in defeat. "Don't come to me when you're dead."

Just for good measure, Robin raised his bow again. Once again everyone cried in panic and leapt out of the line of fire.

Robin barley listened to any of our ideas of a plan. He didn't care about the prizes, a silver arrow, but this was nothing new. This was the average prize for such a tournament. Still we tried to mess with him, to see how much he really listened.

"The winner of the tournament gets to personally assassinate the sheriff," Luke told him to no reaction.

"The winner gets to rule England for a month," Much said but still to no avail.

"The winner gets to turn into a horse," Roger shouted over to us. The rest of us looked at him in surprise but Robin still focused on his arrows. "What?" he asked to our confused look.

"I could swear that you just made a joke," Matthew said, sounding as shocked as the rest of us felt. We understood his motives when we saw him lift Thomas's flask to his lips.

I knew how to get Robin's attention. "The winner gets a kiss from Marian."

Needless to say he dropped his arrows and gave me his full attention. I smirked at the others to show off my imperial knowledge before breaking Robin's heart with the truth. They glared at how I had won the unofficial contest.

Matthew however, took it too heart.

He set out to where we never ventured. A tavern in the heart of Nottingham. It wasn't the friendly one where Martha and Thomas resided. This was a bad sort. The kind where the Sheriff himself was a regular customer.

Matthew refused to chicken out, simply donning his hood, donned a new accent and ventured inside.

It wasn't hard to find the sheriff. He demanded the centre booth and all of the waiting staffs constant attention. Matthew figured that it was prime time for a little sabotage.

He strode up to bar saying "I hear that tournament participants get a discount."

The man behind the bar sneered and told him in rather colourful language that no such rule existed and that he should leave. Matthew threw up his hands in surrender and sat at the Sheriff's table.

Normally this could get him beheaded but due to the amount of empty flagons on the table, the sheriff didn't mind. He still glared him down though.

"That's the trouble with those tournaments," Matthew said casually, as if the pair had already been having a conversation. "No one bothers to enter thanks to the rather normal, if not rude treatment they receive."

The sheriff looked like he was racking through his ale soaked mind, trying to think of something to say but Matthew spoke again before he got the chance.

"I mean, back where I come from, people just say "what's the point? Just another silver arrow, I've got plenty of them." You know what I'm thinking?" he paused again, but only to regain breathe, rather than to let the Sheriff think. "I think, you need to sweeten the prize. Make it a little bit more worth their while. Something completely invaluable to the Prince but something to get them young male archers of the country practically begging to enter."

It was obvious what he was doing. The poor Sheriff was blissfully unaware of how much he was being played.

"Well what do we do?" he asked, barley audible from the slur that ale had caused him.

"Well you look like a pretty smart looking gentleman to me. Surely there must be something you can think of that most young men and would do anything for. Something that costs nothing but looks pretty darn beautiful and impressive."

How slow could the Sheriff possibly be? Finally he slammed his hand down on the table. "Offer them Marian. A kiss from her would bring in lots of young men wouldn't it?"

"My lord," Matthew said, with false admiration. "I was not aware till now what a truly wise and brilliant Sheriff we have been blessed with. Such an idea could only be thought up by a truly intelligent man. May England prosper well under your rule."

Job well done he rose and quickly ran out.

The next day it was made public that the Lady Marian would be presenting the silver arrow and be offering a kiss to the winner.

I could imagine her reaction. It still makes me laugh.

From what I understand the Sheriff may be a heavy drinker but his memory is never tarnished by this fact. He remembered his so call 'genius' idea and happily paraded back to the castle, only stealing a few household taxes on the way.

The amount of people entering did dramatically rise. From the look of the crowds, I could say that they easily doubled. There was even more spectators running about then usual. I heard many of them muttering about Robin. It became clear that a lot of the viewers came in the hopes of seeing Robin win. The others just came for the fun of a tournament. They were the main form of entertainment at this time and people flocked to Nottingham to participate in the fun. It was a day where everyone was granted the day off. Adults enjoyed one carefree day where they didn't have to worry about work or money. Children also gained a carefree day to happily run around playing.

It seemed Marian was the only one not enjoying herself.

I turned to Michael. "Do you fancy rubbing it in her face?"

Michael smirked. "When do I not?"

Prince John had given her the job of administrating the participants, probably so more would enter. Men eagerly handed over their hard earned wage to gain the chance to talk to her.

We took advantage of the lack of lines to strole up and annoy her.

"Lovely day isn't Michael?" said casually, pretending that I didn't even notice her.

"It sure is Allen. In fact, I'd say it's the sort of day to, I don't know, realise your long lasting love for someone once sealed with a kiss."

"You two are idiots. And nice work, practically yelling out your names when this who charade is obviously a trap."

Michael pretended to be innocent. "We're just trying to spend some time with you. You never come and see us anymore. Is it too painful to come around camp and seeing him, knowing that your pride will prevent you from eternal happiness."

She was trying very hard to contain her anger. It wouldn't look good if she hit potential contestants.

"I've been busy. Apparently being a prize to men everywhere which is apparently all I'm good for."

"Don't say that," I said, pretending to comfort her. "You were pretty good whenever you helped us. Remember helping people? You used to do to occasionally. Except you don't really do that anymore. Why is that do you think Michael? Perhaps the same reason she doesn't come around camp anymore? The pain of a love she can never express?"

"I am still helping people," she corrected. "Just not as much. It's hard, doing everything you lot do but without getting caught."

We ignored her attempt at an insult as a guard approached us. Holding our breaths, we waited to see if he recognised.

"These men bothering you" he asked Marian, not even acknowledging us.

"What if she was bothering us," Michael muttered. I elbowed him before he had a chance to get us in more trouble.

"Either sign up or get lost" he sad to us. We chose get lost.

"So why can't any of us enter?" Benny complained when we rejoined the others. We all looked at each other and broke out in laughter.

"You really think that you can take on Robin?" Thomas sputtered out.

"No but I could take on a lot of the other men."

Matthew, being the only one who was nice enough to hold in his laughter kindly told Benny "I don't think you're quite ready. Plus, we don't need more men in the firing line. Robin is already pushing his luck, walking into such an obvious trap."

Finally Robin arrived. A rather simple disguise but it was all part of the plan. Just for the heck of it, he sported a German accent. I pretended to be his servant and trailed behind, more to see Marian's reaction.

She looked him up and down and didn't bother to insult him. "Not worth my time," she muttered to herself.

"Come on I have a whole speech planned," he whispered. "Can't you just pretend you don't recognise me."

She shook her head. "It would take a miracle for you to get past round one."

"A challenge my love?"

"Drop the 'my love' or I will expose you right now."

"If you drop the 'pretending to hate me' act I wont say 'I told you so' my love."

It turned out that she wasn't bluffing. "Guards," she yelled "I've found Robin Hood."

"I love you too," Robin said quickly as he pulled at his sword. Most guards knew by now, knew to simply lie on the ground when this happened. The problem was that Prince John had gone to extra effort for this tournament. There were far too many trained guards to fight. Robin dodged the few that were brave enough to approach him and easily knocked them down. Then he ran. The big crowd of people were both a blessing and a curse as he lost the guards but was also slowed up. Eventually I saw his green cloak emerge on the other side. Maybe green wasn't the wisest idea. It was no wonder that people recognised him while wearing his signature colour.

Prince John yelled "close the gates you fools," thinking to trap Robin.

Too bad we had thought of that. Little John, who had been waiting on the other side of the wall easily shot an arrow over the wall. The arrow was attached to rope which Robin grabbed hold of as John, Levon and Luke pulled him over.

Prince John was beyond angry.

He turned on the Sheriff yelling "You fool! You swore to me that you could catch him."

The Sheriff actually looked a little worried. "Well our men were ready for him to be caught during the tournament. This was a little earlier then expected."

"Shut up," the Prince roared. "You said, Hood would win and we would catch him. Then I had Hood and my silver arrow. Now I will lose both."

There was nothing he could do. To stop the tournament could equate to a riot so he had to proceed. Even if it meant losing his precious arrow. The gang all looked at each other, wondering what to do next. I shrugged and told them to watch the tournament. I sat down next to Marian, pretended to help take in new participants.

The gates were locked firm so the gang had to split up and look for some way to amuse themselves.

Benny approached us saying "I want to enter the tournament."

Marian just shrugged and took his money.

I coughed, hoping to get her attention. "Marian, are you aware that this is Benny?"

She looked confused. "Oh," she finally said as she understood."

"Shows how much you pay attention around camp. You didn't even know he was an outlaw."

Rather then be insulted, Benny used this to his advantage. "So if someone who is always around doesn't recognise me, how do you expect the Sheriff to?"

"It's too dangerous" I said, trying to calm him down.

"When will you stop trying to protect me? If it was Luke or Thomas or anyone older, you wouldn't mind."

He was getting ready for a full out rant when Marian interrupted. "Excuse me but here is your number, you'll be on the seventh target and if you go to the marshal over there he will explain the rules to you." In response to our questioning gaze she said "all my life people say that I need protecting because I'm so young. Don't give me that look Allen you always did it."

It was true. Before I was outlawed, Robin and I were always saying that Marian shouldn't do the extremely dangerous things she wanted because of her age. She was very young and looked even younger so people were always treating her like a child. Benny gave her an understanding look and wandered off to the marshal.

"Let the child live," she told me.

"That 'child' is older than you." She was silent after that.

Gisbourne walked up next. "I thought you said archery contests were a complete waste of time and only purpose male pride," she said accusingly.

He looked annoyed. "The sheriff is making me enter so I can win back the Prince's precious arrow and give it back. You think I want to be here?"

She gave him a sympathetic look. "Good luck," she said with a special smile as he walked away.

"What was that?" I asked, accusingly.

"What was what?" she asked innocently.

"That look. I haven't seen it in a while."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "I'm just being friendly."

I gave her my special look. One that said 'I'm going to drop this issue but I know you're lying' but only because the tournament was starting.

She had to go to the royal booth so I searched for a Merry Man to stand beside. I found Michael who looked just as concerned as me. "Did you see the look too?" I asked.

"What look? I'm brainstorming how we can find new gang members once Benny gets himself killed."

At least he had the brains to disguise himself slightly. He wore a hood do we couldn't see his face and I hoped he had done something to his face because a hood wouldn't keep the Sheriff confused for long. We had no escape routes but at least most of the guards had been dismissed on account of Robin already being caught.

The first set of archers lined up and Benny was amongst them. He did well, hitting one of the inner rings of the target. He wasn't the best but he was safely in the next round. Prince John had grown bored now he knew that he was getting nothing out of this tournament and made the targets very hard to hit in the hopes that it would end quickly. The targets were placed 200 feet in the second set so of course, over half of the participants were knocked out. Benny got in, but only just. He did the same for the third and it seemed that he had just snuck into the final. Gisbourne got in too which I wasn't happy about. It was clear that he was better than Benny and we feared that it could be all over.

Benny was to shoot last out of the four men remaining. Prince John set the target at 300 feet, a near impossible shot. The first man was lucky to even hit the target. The second shot admirably but still only just made the target. The Sheriff sat up, suddenly paying attention when Gisbourne prepared for his turn. If he made this, the Sheriff would cease to lose face with the Prince. Gisbourne calmly took aim and shot. His arrow went straight into the bulls eye.

"So basically Benny is doomed," Michael said.

I nodded.

What we didn't expect was for Benny's arrow to shot just as calmly and for his arrow to land straight above Gisbourne's.

The crowd roared in triumph. We waited anxiously as someone was sent to check the target. It turns out Benny's arrow had been just above Gisbourne's making his closer to the centre.

Benny was the champion.

An unknown winning such a tournament never happened and the people were overjoyed. One of their own had risen above all of the other trained Lords and knights and won. It took us a while to recover from the shock of it all.

"I swear he was never that good," I finally sputtered out. Michael was still frozen.

Prince John had never looked angrier as Marian presented the silver arrow to Benny. He gave her a knowing smile and politely declined his kiss. Then came the party. It seemed all of Nottingham stayed to congratulate Benny on his victory.

We feared Robin's reaction when he finally found a way back. Being chased out and then one of his own men winning in his place would surely make him a little moody. He surprised us by welcoming Benny by congratulating him warmly. He too was overjoyed that an unknown had won and was even happier then the people as he knew that it was one of his own men.

Marian pulled Robin to the side so naturally I eavesdropped.

"Nicely played," she told him "but why the big show. Why not just admit you were the one under that hood?"

He shook his head at her. "You really think my pride is that bad? Look at the kid."

She did as instructed. He was having the time of his life as he was flocked by people, remarking on his excellent skill. The gang was finally starting to recover from the shock and was joining the crowd of congratulations.

"This tournament was never about me winning. It was about giving that silver arrow to the poor. But technically since I did win, do I get that kiss now?"

She stormed off. "Cheat," he muttered.

So Robin's pride wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I knew him better. I knew this whole thing was a ploy for her. Thinking back now, I understood the importance of the crowd for the switch. I wished Robin would inform me of these plans beforehand.

Still, at least his pride has somewhat improved.

Possibly.


	16. The Trouble of Engagment

Chapter Sixteen

It all began with Marian and a conversation that shouldn't have happened.

She had started seeing Gisbourne all the time around the castle, following the Sheriff like a little dog. She could tell he didn't like this. He would pull faces at her showing complete agony which never failed to make her laugh. Their conversations grew less uncomfortable, not that they really ever were and she found herself going out of my way to see him.

Annie was delighted at this, probably because the more time Marian spent with Gisbourne meant the less time Marian spent with Robin. Marian found that she was thinking about Robin less when she was with Gisbourne. This was one of the reasons at the beginning that she spent so much time with him. That and how angry it made Robin.

Here is the famous conversation. From what I heard, Annie took great joy in bounding up to Robin and telling him "Marian is spending all her time with a man that is not you!"

I imagine he wouldn't have believed her at first, seeing how they hate each other. He would have told her something along the lines of "I know you live for ruining peoples lives but can you take your pathetic lies somewhere else?"

She than would have challenged him. "See for yourself then" and flounced of with that knowing little smirk on her face.

"We are going to go spy now aren't we?" Michael said, groaning as he spoke.

"And people say that you're just a pretty face," Robin said as Michael continued to groan.

Lilly become the voice of reason, telling Robin "leave the poor girl alone. You will only make things worse."

But Robin always hated listening to reason.

Robin then would have spied on Marian until he saw her having a perfectly innocent conversation with Gisbourne and decided she was doing it to get at him. He thought it would be logical to confront her. This being another example of a conversation that never should have happened.

"I can't believe your spending time with some man to get at me."

"Robin, brace yourself. People do things that don't involve you."

"People do yes. But you…"

"You know you are just doing it to make him mad right. It's because you're so bored and pathetic that you need to take it out on other people" Luke yelled across camp. Normally he wasn't interested in these sorts of conversations but the lack of activity lately had resulted in most members of the gang jumping at the smallest hint of drama.

"That's not true" Marian replied. "If it were I would have told you how pathetic you are and how everything that comes out of your mouth is stupid. But I didn't."

"It's a little bit true" Michael and I agreed. We shrunk back from the look she gave us and tried to subtly fight over who got to hide behind the other. I won, Michael was never particularly good at anything excluding his music. So Michael cowered as I cowered behind him, both of us praying that her anger would be momentarily diverted. Thankfully she grew bored.

Marian couldn't believe Robin's indignation and decided that now she would do exactly what we thought she was doing. She spent the majority of her time with Gisbourne in the hopes that Robin was spying and would get angry. Most of the time he was and she did receive the desired effect as he obsessed over it and wasted a great deal of time thinking of easy ways to make Gisbourne disappear.

"You know, I think I recall you liking Gisbourne when he first got to England," I said to break up one of his rants.

Robin quickly leapt to his own defense and muttered something about immediate distrust and not wanting to seem impolite by showing it.

Marian's plan backfired when she actually started to like Gisbourne. He was kind and smart and handsome. Mainly he didn't make her want to hit him when ever she saw him like Robin did.

He was meant to be a distraction, something to take her mind off Robin. Marian found herself falling in love with him instead.

It was horrible.

Marian had never been in this kind of situation before. With Robin she knew he loved her long before he did so there was none of that horrible guessing work. But she couldn't tell with Gisbourne. She tried everything thing she knew to get him to admit what he was thinking but he remained collected and refined.

He seemed as nervous as her most of the time but Marian couldn't figure out if that meant love or that he's just nervous all the time.

Annie was up to her normal tricks because it couldn't be a coincidence that just as all this love drama was going on around Prince John decided that it was time to for Marian to get married.

It was never a good thing when Marian was summoned to see him. He was delayed and she found herself waiting. This turned out to be worse then the actual talk. The unknown always upset her.

I had been in charge of another castle raid on that night and I tactfully switched myself with one of the guards assigned to shadow the Sheriff. This is how I ended up in the same room where the meeting was to take place.

The Sheriff made an effort to come. He also knew that the talks meant trouble and loved witnessing them. The bright side for Marian meant that with the Sheriff came Gisbourne.

"Remember if you get angry just count to ten," Gisbourne muttered to her, keeping her temper in mind.

"And if that doesn't work just punch him in the face," The Sheriff added, laughing hysterically at his own suggestion. Anything to do with violence was known to make the man amused.

Finally the Prince saw fit to grace her with his presence. Everyone in the room snapped into action and prepared themselves. It was truly interesting to see the way people changed around those with power. The Sherriff wiped any trace of laughter from his face as he knew the Prince despised happiness. Gisbourne quickly became mute, knowing full well that the Prince would care for nothing he said. Even Marian became more alert and quickly checked herself for anything that would set him off. It seemed that temper ran in that part of the family.

Luckily he seemed calm and gestured to the long table at the head of the room. "Please sit," he told his niece in a nice enough manner. She knew better than to assume this meant he was in a good mood and sank into a chair with saying anything. He preferred the most elaborate seat, the one only he was ever allowed to use. Robin had tried it once, in an attempt to upset the Prince. We had nearly been beheaded that day

"How old are you know my dear," he said, in an undistinguishable tone. Marian took a while to understand the question as it was such an odd thing to hear from her uncle. They never divulged in small talk or cared in the least about what the other had going on in their lives.

"Eighteen my Lord," she responded.

"Getting on in years then. And when beauty is gone you will have nothing."

Marian wasn't surprised by this kind of talk. She knew that he was a blunt man who cared nothing for her feelings. It was quickly becoming obvious to her where this conversation was going. "I feel I do have a while before I need worry about that," she said.

"Nonsense. These are the years. The years where men look upon you will longing in their hearts and still have a decent amount of money in their purses." The Sheriff was holding in laughter on the sides but Prince John continued. "It is time you start making moves to be married. You can't stay here forever you know. I have been kind enough to provide for you these past few years but there is a limit to my generosity."

Marian fought to remain calm in light of his words. "In all fairness my Lord, moves have been made in the past. I was engaged previously."

The Sheriff could remain silent no longer and interrupted. "Yes but that was about a year and a half ago and to a future outlaw. Hardly the type of thing you want to advertise. Hood didn't become an outlaw solely to escape marrying you did he?"

"I wouldn't know," Marian muttered, "it's not as if I keep in contact with him."

Prince John was suddenly very interested in her words. "I am right in assuming that in this past year you have not had any contact with Hood?" Gisbourne too was suddenly paying attention. The Sheriff subtly reached for the chains he always kept around his belt in the hopes that her answer would allow him to finally arrest her. Marian simply shook her head and avoided eye contact with her uncle.

"Well then there is nothing holding you back," Prince John happily announced. "I will start seeing candidates within the week." He flicked his hand as a gesture for his dismissal. Unfortunately for him, she was not accepting this response. She did rise from her seat but only to have a better arguing stance.

"With all due respect I have seen the majority of these suitors and can safely say that none of them rise to the appropriate standard."

"That is because you are too selective," Prince John said, no longer paying attention to her as he wrote began to write a letter.

"Well excuse me if I don't want to marry someone who will hate me and only take pleasure in physically harming me," she said, her tone rising.

He didn't like this. If there was one thing the Prince couldn't stand, it was a hysterical woman.

"It's time for you to decide," he told her "Marriage or a convent."

It couldn't have been a coincidence that the Sheriff had to be present during this and as Guy has to go everywhere the sheriff goes, he heard too.

Annie was evil.

"I'll give you time to think it over" he told her and once again summoned for her to leave.

Marian was quickly panicking. "I cannot handle a convent," she moaned to Annie, who was faking concern. "All that praying would drive me insane. And an arranged marriage could end up with me having less freedom then a convent. I'll run to the forest before I settle for an arranged marriage." All of this was said extremely fast and Annie no longer pretended to listen.

"But then you would have to be with Robin all the time" Annie pointed out.

They were interrupted by Gisbourne running into them. Literally. Marian and Guy both ended up on the floor. She couldn't understand why that memory of Robin flooded back to her when Marian had first returned to England and had knocked him over in the same fashion.

"I was actually hoping to run into you," he told me. "Well not run as in how we crashed but…"

"I understand," she told him. "Why were you hoping to run into me, not literally?"

"Follow me."

So she did, nervous all the while. The nerves got worse when they ended up in a romantic garden.

Don't worry, I followed. Nervous all the while.

"Marian" he began.

Marian wasn't sure if she was suddenly filled with excitement. She hoped that whatever the emotion was, that it was excitement.

"When we met last year, I knew my life was changed. You were filled with such life, despite the near death experience you had just suffered."

I was disgusted. What kind of man talks about a near death experience in a proposal?

"I let you leave France and only realised this was a mistake when it was too late. I've been given a second chance and I'm not ruining it this time. So…"

He went down on one knee. I cursed silently.

"Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?"

She was definitely excited and it felt amazing to tell him "Yes!"

This changed when thoughts of Robin raced through her head the second the ring was on her finger.

I pretended that couldn't believe it when I heard. But I was still extremely angry. "You're doing what?" I yelled but was quickly silenced by Marian. She began to say it again but I stopped her, refusing to hear it twice.

"I heard you the first time and I still can't believe you're marrying Gisbourne!" I yelled again only to be shushed.

She whispered "the only reason I'm telling you is so we can think of the best way to tell Robin. I don't want him finding out publicly."

"Why? Because he'll take it so much better that way. You want me to tell him don't you? So he'll take all his anger out on me. Well I won't do it. And even if I did it wouldn't make him less mad at you and he could end up going on a killing rampage and it will be on your conscience…" She silenced me again. I hadn't realised how loud and shrill my voice had become.

"Could you please stop shushing me?" I could see I was getting a bit hysterical. And I do tend to ramble when I panic. I was only panicking because I knew how Robin would react when he found out.

"I'm not saying you have to tell him. I do owe him that much. But in the meantime can you keep him away from people who will tell him before I'm ready.

"Why did you have to tell me?" I complained. "You have other friends here. Why couldn't you have told Michael or Luke or Levon?"

"Michael is not here right now. Luke is a stuck up idiot who struggles to count to five and Levon cant handle secrets."

"And I can?" I couldn't believe this. "I'm just as bad as he is."

"But you know Robin best and he trusts you most."

I was torn, still angry with her but flattered that apparently I knew him best.

Flattery always wins. "Fine I'll help you. But just so you know. No matter how long you wait, it'll hurt him just as much,"

I love having those moments. When I say something smart and the person I say it to takes it to heart.

"Where were you" Will asked as soon as I got back to camp.

"I went for a walk"

"To?"

"No where in particular."

He was getting his desired effect. Everyone was starting to pay attention now as it became blatantly obvious I was lying about something.

"Speaking of unknown whereabouts, where were you last night Thomas?"

The look he gave me made me cringe. But it worked. The attention was off me. For now.

"Lets go" Robin said and everyone began gathering weapons.

"Where are we going?" I asked nervously.

He said the word I dreaded. "Nottingham."

I was beginning to panic. "What are we doing in Nottingham that can't wait a while?"

Robin shrugged. "Prince John is making some big announcement. Those are never good for us but its good that we know them straight away?"

"I'm not so sure" I muttered. It was then I realised that everyone was leaving.

"Wait" I yelled. "We cant go there today…because…We need to go to Locksley and…stop a large amount of taxes getting stolen which is where I was before and came back to tell you but you made me forget."

"How did you forget that?" Will asked, still suspicious.

"Because of you and your face." I retorted. "We have to go now. The guards were getting violent."

Robin nodded and everyone changed course.

"What are you going to do when we get to Locksley and there is no guards there?" Levon whispered.

"How did you know?" I whispered back.

"You were really subtle," he said sarcastically

"Help me," I whispered. "I'll explain later"

Levon being the mastermind he is, feel on the forest floor nursing an apparent broken foot.

I appreciated the idea but couldn't see how this would stop the whole gang saving a village.

It was getting out of control and I was out of ideas.

Unfortunately I was so deep in thought I wasn't watching where I was going, legitimately falling over and hitting my head so hard on the ground I was knocked right out.

This was definitely not one of the finer moments of my life.

I awoke to see Levon watching me. "Good call on the knocking out. Robin didn't go to Locksley."

Yes! Victory!

I tried to rise in victory but sank back down when the pain hit.

"Where are we?"

"Old Pete's. Remember? Luke's friend the physician? The gang went off to do some job"

"Old Pete's? Which is in Nottingham?"

I jumped up, ignoring the pain. "We have to get to the square," I yelled.

"Why" he yelled back, enjoying all of the loud noises.

"Robin will find out Marian's engaged" I continued to yell and started running, ignoring his confusion.

"What?" he yelled after me but I was already out of the door.

We got to the square just in time to see Robin and Gisbourne in hard combat.

"What happened" Levon anxiously asked.

Only Will could tear his eyes away from the fight to answer us. "We came to here Prince John's announcement and Robin lost it when he heard it was Marian's engagement announcement. He stood there frozen for a bit and then we saw Gisbourne walking and we couldn't hold him back. Now they're fighting and we're pretty sure Robin's going to kill him."

With that his eyes were once again on the fight. So were ours.

Robin was angry. Angrier then I had ever seen him. Gisbourne was angry to. I think it was because he was figuring out that he had competition for Marian's affections.

Marian herself was on the side, looking ready to jump in and kill Robin herself. Levon and I pulled our hood and edged around to her.

"How are you doing?" Levon asked her.

"He had to ruin my engagement day," she said, not taking her eyes away from the fight.

"Are you really angry or just feeling guilty?" he asked but edged away before she had a chance to answer.

Both men were getting tired but they fighting harder than ever. Eventually they paused to catch their breathes. They were speaking quietly to each other so I once again began edging.

"This makes no difference. You can keep on trying to impress her but she belongs to me" Gisbourne was telling Robin.

"Is that logic talking, or fear?"

"That would be logic due to the fact of how she accepted me while she continues to despise you. You can do what ever you want. It won't change a thing. She will never love you."

Robin lunged forward and stabbed his sword into Gisbourne's side.

The next few things happened very fast.

First there was silence. The quietest silence I have ever heard. It was very brief.

Then came the screams.

I wasn't sure who it was. I wasn't focused on sound.

Marian ran to Guy but not before punching Robin extremely hard. She desperately tried to stop the bleeding. Ironically she had always wanted to be a physician. Now she was finally getting the chance to live her dream but she was losing her betrothed.

Robin stood frozen with a strange look on his face. A mixture of shock and satisfaction.

Little John pulled him away as the guards began pouring in and forced him to run.

I finally realised that people were calling my name and demanding that I run.

I was happy to oblige.

We ran in silence. Everyone was too shocked to speak. We made it back to camp in record time. Still no one spoke.

"How did it go?" Lilly enquired. No one knew how to answer. Robin stormed off. Amelia and Lilly knew something was up and didn't ask again until he was well away.

"Marian may or may not be engaged" Michael told them. "She might be because it was announced just before and she may not be because Robin killed him. What are we eating?"

Obviously they disregarded his food comment. Amelia began to ramble "When did this happen? How did this happen. Why did no one tell me? Does raising that girl mean nothing to her? I feel I should be informed of these things…"

Lilly cut her off. "What did Robin do?"

"Found out the hard way" I told them. "Which I tried to avoid. You all remember my efforts which Will, that's right I'm talking to you, helped to ruin. Which is quite normal for you as you do tend to ruin things?"

"Not the right time" he retorted. "If it were I would say how you…"

"Not the right time" Much yelled and instantly shrunk back, afraid of everyone taking it out on him.

No one did so he took it as a sign to keep talking. "Maybe someone should go talk to him?"

No way. "I like being alive" I said.

"So do I" Luke added.

"I'm not good when people are angry" Matthew decided.

"I carry too many Marian memories that could just set him off," Michael decided.

Everyone looked at him, confused. "Well she is my best friend and would you really want a speech about accepting the love of your life moving on from her best friend?"

Everyone accepted this as an excuse and moved on.

"I am terrible with emotions," said Roger

Luke jumped in again. "Add that onto my excuse. I do that too. Except anger. I like anger. But only in myself."

"I'm scared of him when he's in this mood" Lilly said.

"I don't know much about women issues," Benny said, for once, mocking his age to his own advantage.

"I've got dinner to make" Amelia said.

"I'm slightly drunk," Thomas said. We all paused to look at him. "Before I knew what was going on," he continued.

"But when?" Michael asked "looking rather impressed. "You were with us the whole time."

"I have my ways."

"And I can never say the right thing" Much finished.

Luke stifled a laugh. "We're glad you finally figured that out"

And then they all looked at me. "What?" I asked. "Why is it always me?"

"You know him best" Levon tried to tell me.

"Why do people only say that when they want me to do an unfavorable job?"

That was when Marian showed up. "I'll do it." And without waiting for a response went to find Robin.

Strangely she had brought Tuck and Annie with her.

"I'm just here in case she gets violent and you need someone to talk her down," Tuck explained.

"I want to see Robin get killed" Annie said as she went to follow Marian. John reached out and blocked her.

"Stay" he ordered. His size influenced her to remain.

No one knew what to do next.

"He's alive. Just so everyone knows," Tuck told us.

I was rather disappointed. I am such a bad person.

I busied myself with some cleaning to distract myself so I didn't rush over there to eavesdrop.

I was sure we would hear yelling soon.

Robin knew she was there. He could hear her talking.

She finally found him. She didn't start talking right away. I guess she was trying to pick to right words to yell.

"I thought you ought to know that he's alive"

"Right" Robin said as he started to get up.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To finish the job," he informed her.

She pushed him straight back down. "Will you stop being so immature?"

"I will if you will."

"Name one thing I've done"

"Marrying someone just to annoy me."

Her tone changed and she was no longer angry. "I happen to love him."

Robin shook his head. "No you don't."

"Robin stop it. We're not getting back together. We had our chance and it didn't work. Killing Guy won't do anything. I still won't come back to you."

For once in his life, Robin wished she would leave.

"You know, I think it's time you left," he told her, trying to keep calm.

She was trying as well.

Neither of them were succeeding.

"I think that's the first good idea you've had in a while."

"Great!" Robin exclaimed. "The exit is that way"

"Great!" And she turned. Of course, being Marian she couldn't leave without making sure she really hurt him.

So she turned back to Robin and started in. "You know. Part of the reason Guy is so perfect is that he doesn't use violence to show off and prove he's a man."

Robin scoffed. "He was just as in to that fight as I was and you know why? Because he knows that one day you are going to wake up and realise how you hardly know him and were only interested in him to make me mad."

She sighed. "Great we're back to that. Your problem is that you think you know me. Well you don't. You have no idea how I think or what I fell because if you did, you could clearly see how I want nothing to do with you"

"Then why are you still here?" Robin yelled.

Now she started yelling too. "Because I'm trying to figure out how disillusioned you are so I can inform people on how to start fixing you."

"I'll let them know" Robin yelled. "Now I would consider it a personal favour if you leave and don't come back."

Again she scoffed. "So you're banning me now?"

"As a matter of fact I am"

"Perfect, because I don't want to come back."

"Fine!"

I remembered the looks on their faces when they finally told me that Robin had admitted his feelings for her.

"Fine!"

I remembered their faces when they told me they were engaged.

She finally stormed off. Robin remained.

I remembered Robin's face when we had run. He had known this was coming.

He wasn't ready to go out and see all the sympathetic faces. 'It was better this way' he thought to himself. 'All she does is create drama and I'm better of without her.'

He knew that he wasn't fooling anyone.


	17. The True Meaning of Tragedy

Chapter seventeen

29th September 1190

These last few months have been extremely awkward.

Robin has been constantly sulking, avoiding any jobs that would took him close to Nottingham. Don't get me wrong, he hasn't neglect them.

He just sends the rest of us. At all hours or the day and night. Complaining has become nonstop, mainly Much who has become positively unbearable.

But no matter how much they complain, no one would ever confront Robin.

To make matters worse, Robin's constant bad mood were projecting out and making everyone angry as well. It had become almost like a disease, spreading at a rapid pace through a single touch. The infected displayed symptoms of agitated mood swings as the slightest inkling of something unfavorable resulted in pain.

No one was safe. Especially me. I was Robin's best friend and apparently, responsible for controlling his constantly shifting emotions. Needless to say, I was quickly getting sick of it.

I was also, as I loved to say, "getting torn in both directions." Being the cousin of the bride and the best friend of the past love of the bride, I was forced to spend time with both of them.

Michael, Amelia, Lilly and Levon were the same, having a foot in each camp. Friends of both parties. I was very interested to see who would end up on which side.

Michael took his time to decide. While he was much closer to Marian and he did owe her for getting him in the gang, Robin was his leader and you do not want to make him mad but siding with Marian. He ended up on Robin's side. Marian had another reason to not come and visit. Michael tried to make amends but she stopped him saying "I kissed him for you" and stormed off.

"It gets less dramatic every time she does that," Luke commented which only made her storm out faster and angrier.

Amelia chose Marian. She figured Robin needed her for food so he couldn't kick her out. And he wouldn't dare be cruel to her thanks to her protector and husband. Robin had skill but that skill wouldn't do him a lot of good if John hit out of the blue. Besides, it was always obvious that Amelia was going to Marian's side after practically raising her.

Lilly was the kind of person who people forgot about because she picked the right moments to stay quiet. She agreed along with whoever was talking and people forgot that she kept changing sides.

Much didn't. No one cared. Strangely enough Lilly and Much become friends. He was just glad to be around someone who didn't insult him all the time and use him to vent his or her anger. So he didn't tell anyone about her not picking sides.

Levon was with Robin. He loved Marian like a sister but was strongly against her marrying Gisbourne. Through my excellent eavesdropping skills I overheard an interesting conversation.

"How can you not be coming to my wedding?" Marian was ranting. "You are my cousin and friend. He's nothing to you."

"Actually Marian, he is my friend and leader and regardless of all that I still wouldn't come because I don't want to witness you marrying some man you don't love."

"Great now you're saying it. Robin doesn't know what he is talking about and never has."

"I haven't heard Robin say anything about that. I say those things because how I see you act around Gisbourne and Robin."

"I'm never around Robin so you're not making sense. And if you dare say that you're speaking from past experiences then I'm sorry to tell you times change and people change."

Then she stormed off. It turns out my eavesdropping skills are not as good as I thought as Levon came and stood beside me. "Am I crazy or do you see it too?"

"See what?"

"Two people whose pride is making them make the biggest mistakes of their lives."

"No, I see that too."

Conflict has sprung up in many more places it seemed. John had been so happy since Amelia had come to live with us but that all changed recently. In the year that John had been in Robins gang, Robin had become like a son to John and as I already have pointed out, Marian was like a daughter to Amelia. Both were on opposing teams and both were stubborn.

"I can't believe you're going to the wedding. Robin took you in when you were outlawed. He has been nothing but kind to you and you are betraying him."

"Well what if I didn't go. None of Marian's real friends would. Would you really wish that upon her."

"Isn't that a sign? If all her real friends are in the forest, maybe she should come to the forest."

They spotted me but thankfully refrained from being mad. Temporarily. Instead John asked "are you going Allen?"

He asked the question that I was afraid to ask myself.

"I think someone is calling me," I lied and ran off.

Thomas was only angry when he had been at the pub night before.

So eventually Much and I just stayed in Nottingham a lot, helping Tuck out with odd jobs around the church. Much was avoiding the gang's anger and I was avoiding the question. Tuck ran out of jobs quickly.

"Are you going to the service Tuck?" I asked him one day. We were busy decorating the great hall for the service of all things. We would never tell Robin this fact but we would do anything to avoid going back to camp.

"Of course he is going," Much said. "You'll be administrating the service won't you Tuck?"

Tuck suddenly grew rather angry. "On the contrary. Apparently I'm not good enough to administrate such an important service and there are bringing in the Archbishop who is nothing more than an idiot who spends most of his services getting drunk on new wine. I practically raised that girl and taught her everything she knows and next think I know, I'm being tossed aside."

He grew very absorbed in his speech and forgot that he was supposed to be directing Much and I over how high to hand the banner. We were both having a hard time balancing and we tried to interrupt him every chance we got. He took no notice.

Thankfully Marian stepped in to check on preparations and interrupted him. "Tuck you know I would love to have you there but Prince John demands that The Archbishop do it. And what are you two doing here?" she said to us, "isn't it blasphemy or something to be helping me and not him?"

"We won't tell if you wont," Much said, finally giving up on Tuck ever directing us and tying up his side.

"Well shouldn't you at least wear your hoods or something," Tuck asked and we begrudgingly lifted them. "And Much, your side is too low," he added and Much had to restrain himself.

"Allen are you coming?" Marian asked, in the most innocent tone she could muster. The look of desperation was sneaking through and I had never felt guiltier.

"I don't know," I finally said after a pause.

"You're like a brother to me!" she said, trying anything to change my mind.

"But he is my best friend. I just couldn't do that to him." To avoid her wrath I quickly said "shouldn't we be going now? We don't want to get caught by guards or anything." And I grabbed Much by the arm and walked off as fast as I could without gaining attention.

"I'm coming," Tuck added absentmindedly. "Not that anyone cares."

Marian groaned and walked off, knowing that a disgruntled friar was far down her list of things to worry about.

When we got back to camp, everything was as we expected. Luke went to effort to ensure he bumped into Much as he walked past and said "Much you oaf! Watch where you're going." Much no longer had the energy to fight back. This was also due to the hope that if he ignored the problem it would go away.

You get the picture. I'll finish this terribly boring and depressing account later. Robin is calling for us to leave. Dare I say he is actually going to Nottingham?

I can tell this is not going to end well.

...

...

...

I said I would write about monumental events in this upcoming year.

It doesn't get much more monumental than this.

God help us

Robin is dead

My best friend has been murdered

I can't do this

I just can't


	18. Saying Goodbye to a Hero

Chapter eighteen

I'll start at the beginning.

Although, even I still don't understand.

I must rely on many other people's perspectives to slightly understand these events.

We had just set out to Nottingham on this doomed trip.

Meanwhile Gisbourne was noticing that Marian was becoming more distant.

"She chose me, I shouldn't feel threatened my anyone," he moaned to Annie. "As if stabbing me wasn't enough. I can't believe he got in that lucky shot. I made one small mistake and he nearly won."

"Relax," she told him. "She's not going anywhere."

"When I first proposed we were both so happy. I can proudly say I couldn't see any doubt in her. Then the whole thing with Hood happened and now I'm not sure if there will be a wedding."

Annie was shocked. "Trust me there will be a wedding," she said as she stormed off to find Marian.

A guard barged into the room. "Hood has been spotted in the courtyard" he puffed. "You told me to inform you straight away if this ever happened."

"Thank you" Gisbourne told him and quickly scanned the room for weapons. He took his sword obviously but a dagger caught his eye. He had no idea where it came from. Something about it made him stop and put it in his boot.

Gisbourne thought he was angry before. But when he saw Robin he was filled with such rage. He was ready to fight. He wouldn't get a lucky shot this time.

Robin's eyes lit up when he saw Gisbourne. He wanted to fight. Gisbourne was happy to oblige.

It was supposed to be an easy mission. We were simply trying to figure out what we were facing tomorrow. That was going to be the hard bit. Prince John was gathering new allies and to ensure these allies he was going to need money. All of the taxes that we had missed recently were going to be in the same area and that area was going to be guarded by more guards then we had ever faced before. That is how we ended up sneaking around the castle in broad daylight trying to get ideas. Robin, Will and I were in the courtyard as we tried to think of the best entrance routes.

"I've still got nothing," Robin decided. We had been trying to get this plan sorted for at least two weeks now and were close to giving up. Well we were, Robin wouldn't hear of it. This was probably due to how he had thrown himself into his work after the recent events.

Here Robin made a mistake. Quite a small one really. He stepped out in the open, without a disguise so he was obvious to the guards. I didn't have time to yell at him before the guards were upon us. It was still easy to defeat them.

Then Gisbourne showed up.

Of course they began fighting. Both were angry, both wanted to kill each other, it was beginning to get old.

To be honest, Will and I stopped paying attention. We went back to thinking of ways to getting the money tomorrow. We began muttering strategies to each other and only half watching the fight.

Ultimately Gisbourne's anger was his undoing again and Robin was the winner as Gisbourne's sword went flying.

Robin was clearly getting ready for his winners speech when Gisbourne stopped him

"Save the speech, I've heard it. And it doesn't make a difference. You can beat me at every little fight but I'm still the one she's marrying."

Robin was furious but I think he didn't have the energy to respond anymore.

It happened very fast.

Robin took his eyes off Gisbourne for a second and began to turn away.

Gisbourne lunged up and drove a dagger into Robin.

I froze. But only for a second.

Robin was falling. Blood quickly covering his shirt.

I was suddenly filled with fury.

I ran forward, grabbed Gisbourne and threw him against the wall.

I wasn't like Robin; I didn't waste time with a sword. I pounded my fists into his face.

I needed him to hurt.

Blood quickly poured from his nose and I could see bruises quickly forming around his eyes but it wasn't enough.

I wanted to kill him.

Will pulled me out of my anger by shouting my name. Turning to him I saw my best friend close to death.

Forgetting about Gisbourne, I ran to Robin's side.

I could here guards coming but I didn't care. Will did and instructed me "apply pressure here to stop the bleeding" and ran off to face the guards. Something about his tone confused me. It wasn't urgent, like it should be but calm. How could he be calm when we had to save Robin?

I looked at Robin's wound. I was no physician but had picked up some things from Luke and Marian's conversations. I applied as much pressure as I could but the blood didn't stop.

"Allen" Robin panted. "Don't bother. Its hopeless"

"Don't say that," I angrily told him.

"Allen" he began again. "Take care of Marian."

I couldn't say anything, mostly because I couldn't lie to him any more.

He was going to die.

Hardly believing it, I watched as his eyes closed.

Marian and Annie were oblivious to the action occurring in the courtyard.

"Are you listening to me?" Annie said.

Marian finally realised Annie had stopped talking. Now for her art of pretending to listen. Actually all hope was probably lost. She knew she had to pick an answer, without knowing what the question was. The hardest gambling known to man.

"No"

Annie gave that terrifying look. Marian was praying for a distraction. Thankfully Gisbourne walked in. Well she was thankful until she saw he was covered in blood and he was accompanied by Prince John.

Marian sprung into action. She had trained for this kind of thing. If Prince John wasn't so horrible, she would have gone to study long ago and by name be an excellent physician.

But before she could do anything she noticed the triumphant smiles on their faces. Marian gave them a puzzling look but wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

Annie, being the busy body she was, obviously wanted to know enough to avoid pleasantries.

"What's going on?" she asked hurriedly, wishing to be one of the first to hear.

Then John said it. "Robin Hood is dead."

Marian had no idea what to say.

Annie on the other hand broke out in cheers and started happy dancing.

"How?" Marian finally managed to sputter out.

John paused and looked at Gisbourne.

"I killed him," Gisbourne told her.

She was once again lost for words. Annie continued happy dancing. She grabbed the Sheriff by his arm and began to twirl and thanks to the occasion he didn't care and actually joining in.

"You don't seem happy" Gisbourne noticed.

"I don't think murder is something to get happy about, regardless of who it was."

"This is no longer interesting" Prince John decided and walked off.

Gisbourne didn't. "I thought you would be happy because he's not going to bother you anymore."

"I guess he wont," she said, finally realising.

"Gisbourne!" they heard Prince John yell, showing how Gisbourne was supposed to follow.

Marian sat down, trying to process everything. Annie wouldn't let her have a moment.

"You're not sad are you" she asked in horror.

"No" Marian scoffed. "I just don't believe it. It wouldn't be that easy for him to die. Arrows seem to bounce off him. He wouldn't just die from one stabbing. I'm going to camp and catching him on his little scheme"

"Aren't you banned?"

"Not if he's dead"

Marian grabbed her bag and headed for the door but Annie grabbed her arm. "What do you really expect to find? Leaving now will only create suspicion and the poor man doesn't deserve that."

Marian shrugged her off. "He has no right to do this. People will be heartbroken at the news. He should have thought about those people." She realised her tone was rising and Annie wasn't looking happy. Marian ignored her and left. She was still sure that he was alive and laughing at all of the royals right now. She couldn't wait to tell him that she didn't fall for his scheme.

Taking a deep breath, she walked in.

The scene that she found was not what she expected. Everyone was gathered around the fire and everyone was silent. It wasn't a surprise that Much was crying, he often did. So did Amelia and Lilly. What wasn't normal was everyone else's reactions. The men, who were once filled with joy, all looked lost.

"Where he is?"

They all looked at each other; no one was sure how to answer her.

Levon finally plucked up the courage. "I'm sorry Marian."

This was not happening. "He lies all the time and is doing it now. He never dies."

"Marian!" I yelled, finally speaking up. "I watched him bleed to death after the man you are marrying stabbed him. I was there when he stopped breathing!"

"Right" she said calmly, unable to think of anything else to say and sat next to Levon, still trying to get her head around it all. He tried to put his arm around her but she stopped him saying "I'm fine."

She was given some puzzled glances.

"Well it's sad that he is dead but that doesn't change how I felt about him."

She wasn't fooling anyone. So she stopped talking, mainly because she feared that she wouldn't be able to hold in tears if she did.

There was silence except for the occasional sob. Marian saw them all sneaking her looks, waiting for her to crack.

"So" she said, trying to break the silence "what did you do with the body?"

John wiped his tears and tried to answer her. "We, uh, put him over there" as he gestured to the back side of the camp. "We wanted to say goodbye before we bury him tomorrow."

"Oh" she said. Once again out of things to say.

But John wasn't done. "Do you need to say goodbye?"

He really caught her off guard. Amelia grabbed him and began urgently whispering. I imagine they were deciding between emotionally scarring her for life and helping her accept his death.

"You know what? I think I do need to say goodbye," she told them with a smile on her face. The smile was a bit much. No one is happy to see a dead body, no matter how much they hate the person. She lost the smile quickly.

They exchanged worried looks which she ignored and headed off to find him.

She had seen dead bodies before. This was different. Someone had covered up his wound but for some reason she had to see it. To prove to herself that he wasn't sleeping. The wound was definitely there, along with many other bruises and cuts he had gained over his years of being an outlaw. She decided that he deserved his dignity and began cleaning the wound.

Eventually we sent Michael to fetch her and he was very puzzled when he saw what she was doing. He took her back to everyone else and told them how crazy she was. Of course, they wanted to know why and she didn't have an answer.

I stood up and Marian knew she was in for it. "Marian. He is dead."

"Good observation Allen"

"Stop joking about it!" I was getting angry at that point. "You need to accept that he is gone."

"Stop it." she could feel the tears coming.

"Not until you accept it. He is not coming back and it is not healthy ignore it," I yelled.

"I'm not ignoring it…" and she couldn't say anything more.

"He died. Murdered, by the man you're marrying. They were fighting over you. You know, they actually got along fine before this marriage thing. It's time to wake up and see what you did."

I realised what I had said and stopped abruptly. I had just blamed her for Robin's death. Her face was frozen but I could see her shaking slightly.

"I'm so sorry," I stammered, "You know I would never-"

"No you're right," she said, barley audibly. "It's my fault. Everything is my fault."

She couldn't hold in tears any longer.

I hugged her but she hardly noticed I was there. She didn't notice anyone anymore. I found I was completely supporting her as she almost fell to the ground. I held her tighter but sank down with her as I tried anything I could to comfort and take back what I had said.

Eventually she got a hold of herself but knew that her dignity was long gone. Now the gang had figured out she had feelings. She knew she was never going to live it down.

"I should get going" she finally managed to tell them.

I shook my head at her. "Its not safe to go through Sherwood at night. Outlaws, you know."

We both actually laughed. It felt weird after all that crying.

"Besides," I continued, "before he died, Robin made me promise to take care of you."

This was probably not the best thing to bring up.

"I miss the good old days of everyone just being angry" Much decided "No one was dead."

No one laughed. He guessed its too early to joke about death.

Eventually everyone drifted off to their cabins.

"I know I shouldn't have asked for bunks," Lilly complained when it was decided that Marian should bunk with him.

I coughed awkwardly. "Is there space for one more in there?"

"No" Lilly said quickly. But eventually relented. She knew that I couldn't face sleeping in the cabin that Robin and I once shared.

Much couldn't sleep, he doubted anyone was really sleeping.

He wondered if it was insensitive to go get some water.

His thirst over-ruled the rather intimidating silence. He figured that he'd run, get his water and not run into anyone that would involve getting all deep and would end up crying.

There was a light on in Robin's cabin.

His curiosity over ruled his wish to avoid more tears. It wasn't a surprise when he found Marian there.

"I couldn't sleep" she tried to explain. "So I just thought I'd come over here."

Much knew he was in for it. She found the ring.

Robin's most prized possession. The ring that had previously marked their engagement.

"I can't believe he kept this," she told me. "I'm such an idiot," she decided.

"No" he tried to tell her but she wasn't listening.

"I pretended to hate him for all this time because of my stupid pride. He died thinking I hated him"

"He knew you didn't," Much whispered.

She smiled at that. He was expecting tears. She was strong like that.

They stayed up talking a long time as we swapped embarrassing stories about Robin. I'm not sure who ended up crying more but Much admits that it was probably him. Eventually she fell asleep on Much's shoulder and he wasn't far behind.

They awoke to the sound of arguing. Roger and myself thought it suitable to start the morning with a healthy does of anger. It was unusual in the fact that I was fighting with someone other then Will but not unusual with Roger being involved. We had finished the logical stage of the fight and were now only hearing the insults flying which were too rude to repeat. No one was making a move to stop it and everyone could see it was getting violent. Now Much had to decide to either step in and risk their wrath turning on me or hope someone else would stop it.

"Ok stop it," he finally yelled. Of course we ignored him. Rather than dwell on this, Much simply put two fingers in my mouth and prepared for the loudest whistle that he could manage.

"Cover your ears," he warned Marian who was confused but obliged. He let out a loud and shrill whistle that stopped the argument dead in its tracks. "Now what's going on," he yelled again as everyone nursed their ears.

Roger began "Allen thinks that poor people are just going to magically disappear because Robin is dead and thinks we should ignore the job today."

I interrupted "it's not about ignoring the job. It's about how Robin has been dead for five minutes and you're already trying to take his job."

It was getting heated again. "Ears" Much murmured to Marian again.

"Here is what we're going to do" Much continued into the silence. "We will go and get that tax money because it's what Robin will have wanted but not under Roger's command."

"It should be easy now" Marian cut in. "After yesterday Prince John was delighted with how few guards he would need now. He's forgetting that Robin wasn't the only member of the gang."

"He may not have been the only member but he was the one who always knew what to do" Thomas cut in. "He always had the plans."

"Thank you Mr Negativity" Much said. "Allen you're smart, make a plan."

I looked at him, rather amused. "You know how long it takes to make a good plan?"

"Well we don't have time, so make an adequate plan that will just work. Levon, you know the palace, we need entrance routes. Will, you're in charge of weapons, we're going to need a lot. Matthew, you're a calm person. I need you to give everyone inspirational talks to help them with their jobs. Luke, do whatever it is you normally do. John, do some stretches or something, we need you at your best. Benny and Michael, help Luke doing whatever it is that he does. Amelia and Lilly, I'm hungry and could really use some breakfast. And Thomas, kindly shut your mouth if all your going to do is be negative"

Amazingly everyone sprung into action and did exactly what Much told them.

"Ha" he commented, more to himself. "Robin's job isn't that hard."

"Well it looks like you've got everything under control," Marian decided. "I really have to go now, people will be wondering where I am. Good luck though."

She tried to make a quick exit but she obviously didn't realise that Much liked to hug. His rather loud hugging alerted everyone else that she was leaving and they all came to say emotional farewells. Much could see this was not what she wanted as she really couldn't take anymore sympathy.

"Back to work!" he yelled, they all obeyed. "I am loving this whole in charge thing."

Marian managed a small laugh and returned to Nottingham.

Much's plan didn't last long. We all gathered when it was time to leave but after a headcount someone was missing.

"Where is Will?" Matthew asked.

After a quick search we found he was with Robin.

The surprising thing was that Robin was moving.


	19. Nothing Can Stop the Determined

Chapter Nineteen

"You're alive," I said.

No one else knew what to say.

Robin raised his arm, gesturing for a hug.

I punched him.

It seemed right at the time.

It was inevitable. After the happy realisation stage came the anger and the accusations.

"Don't we have a job to do?" Robin asked but he was not getting out that easy. Poor people paled in comparison to Robin coming back from the dead.

I had never seen the gang so mad. It wasn't only Robin they were angry at. Apparently Will knew about the whole thing and was getting just as much trouble. Finally Robin explained.

"Well, I figured we weren't getting anywhere on the taxes job and even our best plan ran with too many risks from the guards. Lets face it, there was a very high chance of not making it out of there. By faking my own death it meant that Prince John would take away his guards and we can practically walk in there. Also all his noble traitors will have heard and take it as chance to wear there finest jewels. Do you realise how much we are going to get from this job?"

I was very angry. "Why couldn't we be informed about this plan?"

"I was counting on your genuine reactions to trick Prince John?"

I was still angry. "Well, why couldn't Will inform us when we got back to camp?"

Robin shrugged "I wanted to know how you would all react if I died." It was more of a question then an answer. He was seeing if any of us would buy this answer.

"Oh no" I said, finally figuring it out "You were counting on our genuine reactions, but not for the sake of the Prince."

Robin shrugged again. "So how was Marian?"

Everyone hit him. He deserved it.

"Ok, Ok!" he yelled as he tried to fight everyone off. "We have poor people to save. I hope the plan is dramatic. I'll only get so many chances at coming back from the dead."

So we set off, everyone shooting Robin and Will evil glances all the way.

Luke, being the physician he was ran up to Robin, "So how exactly did you make yourself appear dead? Some magic potion?"

Robin laughed. "I'm not really sure. Its something Pete gave me."

"Of course. Only Pete would do something so mean. The bastard." Luke looked ready to kill his friend but wanted knowledge more at the current moment in time. "So what did he give you?"

"I'm not going to pretend to understand his medical language" Robin continued. "It was just something he told us to put on Gisbourne's dagger and we planted it in his room. I had to pose just right so he really didn't stab me somewhere lethal. He could have done to if he wasn't so angry, anger gives a man bad aim. Then Will was ready as I was counting on Allen to distract himself with Gisbourne to give me some more of Pete's concoction and pour fake blood on me to make it look worse."

Will got even more evil looks.

"Why did you trust Will so much?" I asked, trying to hide my hurt.

"Allen I was counting on your reaction" Robin told his friend. "Will wouldn't cry if I died."

"It's true," he agreed. "I don't cry."

"Well why not me?" Luke asked. "Surely I am more medically able then Will. What if Gisbourne had stabbed you fatally? Will would have been useless. And I didn't cry when you died."

"Wow" Robin said. "Insulting. Regardless of who I picked. Lets drop it for now and bring me back to life with a bang."

Prince John had decided to make his little taxes gathering a celebration. It had become any rich person who had grievance with Robin to come together and laugh at his murder. Annie was thoroughly enjoying herself, darting around telling anyone how she knew from the beginning what a complete idiot he was and saying how glad she was that he finally dropped dead. The sheriff was one of the only ones who wasn't happy. His job was in jeopardy. His right hand man did the job that no one else could. Gisbourne was in John's favour and he has barley spoken a word to the sheriff all day. Gisbourne has been relieved from any work for the time being. The sheriff has had to all his own dirty work and was clearly exhausted. There were rumours that Gisbourne was going to be knighted on that day. Annie kept telling Marian to be thrilled, being betrothed to a knight. Marian didn't listen and instead, had all exits in sight in case of an outbreak.

Prince John cleared his throat, prepared to say one of those 'inspirational' speeches and it was going to be long.

'Today, is a great day. For today we lose the thorn that has been in our side for these past two years."

"Has he forgotten that it happened yesterday?" Annie muttered.

"When someone is bitten by a snake, the poison must be sucked out. And so we my people must suck the poison out of our country."

"Oh dear. He's really going for the snake metaphor," Annie continued over hearing the people groaning.

"Hood may be dead but his warped ideas still remain. The few who follow him will fight. But do not fear, they shall be crushed in the same manner he was. This is England my friends. And under my rule, she shall flourish."

He was interrupted. No one couldn't believe it.

"Is anyone else bored by this speech?"

Everyone's eyes rose to the speaker and sure enough, Robin himself leapt down, alive as ever.

"You. But. What?" I think Prince John was about to faint as he sputtered out words, trying to find anything to say.

Robin leapt up beside the Prince and told him "that's right, I'm alive."

A few women in the crowd really did faint. I was too busy trying not to laugh at Annie's face. Guy had a very interesting look on his face. A perfect blend of horror and fury. Dare I say, the Sheriff smirked. His power was returned as well as his enemy, whom I feel he secretly enjoyed fighting. The other Normans all reacted with different variations of fear as they clung protectively to their elaborate jewels and other tidbits that would be soon snatched.

Robin ignored all the looks he was getting and continued "and it sure is a shame that you let all the guards go."

The few guards that had been told to remain finally showed up and Robin gave them one simple look. The look said 'do you really want to try. I just came back from the dead.' The guards all backed away slowly but ended up turning and sprinting away.

The rest of the gang finally turned up, weapons pointing at anyone who dared move in the crowd.

"It sure was nice of you all to have a party in my honour. And it sure was nice for you to all dress so nice. Lovely jewels everyone. Well, actually its downright insulting so for forgiveness, I think you can all donate all those lovely jewels to the poor on the streets that you all ignore."

With that he gave John a smug look and jumped down to begin his circulation.

Robin got to Gisbourne and Marian very fast.

"Well Gisbourne, what do you have to donate?"

Gisbourne leapt forward, fists out. Robin easily caught his fist, twisted it and with his other hand put his sword to Guys neck. "Don't embarrass yourself Gisbourne. You can never beat me. I'm sorry to ruin your fantasy but I let you win so all this could happen. Thanks for being such a good sport. Now I'll need my dagger back." He released Gisbourne's fist and grabbed the dagger off its place of honour in the centre of the table. He than turned to Marian. "What about you Lady Marian? Anything you wish to donate?"

Words left her. She had no idea what to say to him.

Eventually she sputtered out "I don't have anything"

"My lady" Robin responded. "There is no need to lie. That ring of yours could feed a family for a month."

Guy was fuming. He rose, about to try and hit Robin again.

Robin quickly turned and pointed his sword at Guy. "What did we just talk about?"

Guy slowly sank back down, still fuming.

With a smirk Robin took the ring from her finger with a wink and moved on.

Her expression was unreadable. She was clearly still in shock but there was still that familiar trace of anger. However, I could also hint a slight hint of amusement, as much as she tried to hide it.

"As always" Robin said as he prepared to leave "the pleasure has been all mine" and he ran out the door.

Prince John was not happy to say the least. The very least. He turned on Gisbourne yelling, "You fool! You realise what your little prank has cost us? I hope you know you will pay for the this for the rest of your life."

With that he stormed off. The sheriff happily got up and almost skipped after him.

Gisbourne was silent. "Are you ok?" Marian tried to ask but he too stormed out. She was confused obviously and ran after him. "Where are you going?"

"To catch him," he muttered at her.

"But you can't beat him."

"At anything it turns out" he muttered again.

"That's it". She grabbed his arm and made him stop. "Will you talk to me?"

"I'm talking about the look on your face when he paraded in there. I'm talking about how easily you handed the ring over."

Marian couldn't believe this. "I'm marrying you aren't I. I am running out of ways to prove to you that I love you and not him. Robin Hood is the fool not you and I can assure you that I will never be with him again."

That got him. His anger was gone and replaced by guilt. "Sorry" he murmured again.

So she kissed him and he went off to start begging the Prince for forgiveness.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a cough from behind her.

Robin and I had hung around, to return the ring, possibly. Mainly anything to annoy Marian but upon over hearing this conversation, Robin had stormed off but not before dropping the ring. The other two had been in such heated debate, they hadn't noticed all this drama on the sides.

Marian finally noticed me and the ring. "Robin heard that didn't he?"

"Oh yeah" I confirmed. "You need to sort yourself out. You can't just keep doing this."

"I cant? He's the one who faked his death."

"Because he was sure you would be there, and other reasons of course. Now he's alive you can't just forget all that happened and think it can go back to how it was before. Time to wake up Marian and make a final choice."

"I've made it my decision," she said as she tried to convince me.

"Have you?"


	20. Lessons Learnt from Misery

Chapter twenty

15th October 1190

So soon after our last false tragedy, Sherwood was graced with a true one.

It breaks my heart but I feel that I must write as much as I know.

"Come on Levon!" Thomas yelled as the guards drew nearer.

Unfortunately Levon was exhausted and was incapable of running any faster.

He heard people falling to the floor and turned to find that John and Luke had hid beside the door and punched the guards as they ran through. Levon would have thanked them but he was to busy struggling for breath.

"And people claim that I struggle to run," Much said, observing the exhaustion. This comment came with a realisation that made Much practically beam with happiness. Long had he prayed that he would surpass someone in any physical activity and the day seemed to be arising.

"Time to do some more running mate" Little John told him. John was another prime example of someone who struggled to keep up in a typical chase. Of course, this could be blamed on his overwhelming size. Yet even he arrived at the desired place long before Levon.

Now Levon had previously been a perfect example of an outlaw. Young and strapping, he was agile and quick in his movements. He had been blessed with the beautiful appearance that circulated the bloodline of royalty but thankfully, he seemed the only member to not be cursed with vanity. People often say that someone kind would have a 'heart of gold,' and this would be the perfect way to describe Levon.

Just the thought of running made poor Levon wish to drop in a mixture of exhaustion and despair. "No thanks" he puffed in response to John's suggestion for more practice.

Levon was always getting tired lately. He had not been sleeping well. The cough that he had been bothered with for weeks still refused to leave.

No one cared of course. Everyone was busy with their own issues, mainly revolving around wedding plans.

Surprisingly the gang had become oddly willing to participate in such 'festivities' but not for the reasons Marian would have wished.

"Here is the plans and here is how we're going to sabotage them" Much would announce and everyone would gather round. Under the pretense of 'lending a hand,' many members had been silently observing ways in which they could bring dismay to the supposed happy day.

This was save for Robin of course. He seemed to stop caring. About everything.

He had clearly become a defeated man. Countless attempts have resulted in nothing but heartache. The spark about his person that I had previously admired had seemed to flicker and I feared the day that there would be nothing but darkness.

Levon couldn't stay focused on these problems with his health. Exhaustion leads to sickness. He knew it was finally time to go see Pete.

Guilt flooded him, abandoning his cousin at such a busy and confusing time. He loved her like a sister and thought it proper that she had at least one legitament friend. Any small amount of time spent with her made it clear to all that she was extremely conflicted. Never able to remain still, something about her was always working at an immense pace. Worry lines ebbed at her beauty, which stayed exquisite regardless. Yet there was minimal resemblance to the carefree and happy young woman he had known at the start of this year.

Levon worried about all of this and many more issues as he paced around Pete's working space, awaiting the old man to return. The door slamming was an imminent sign that the physician had arrived. Without bothering to turn around, Levon knew that the man was in a terrible mood. This was after all, a regular occurrence.

The deep groan that followed told Levon that his presence had been recognised and not pleasantly. Any normal person would be greeted with the sight of an obvious outlaw, shown by the green clothing. Pete only saw this as a nuisance.

"Which one are you?" he said in that gruff deep voice, "Allen, or that other one. I forget his name. Starts with the letter L"

Levon turned to reveal his face. "It's Levon actually.

Pete just grumbled about too many people with blonde hair, ignoring his previous rude comment where he showed his lack on interest in knowing Levon's name.

"You know my day doesn't revolve around you outlaws," Pete told him grumpily. "What's wrong with you?"

"Well I'm always tired. I've had a constant cough for the past few months. And I've lost a bit of weight. Sometimes the coughs result in a fair amount of blood. I also have no appetite anymore. There is constant pain in my chest. I wake often with night sweats." Levon realised only then, when he said it all at once, how serious his condition sounded.

Pete's look of concern worried Levon. The old man grabbed Levon's hand and examined it closely. Only then, did Levon notice how deformed his nails had become. They seemed to swell and the colour had changed drastically.

"So what is wrong with me?"

"Well, you coughing up blood, you are constantly exhausted, you look terrible…"

"Hey!" I cut in. "No need for nastiness."

Pete ignored him. "You have lost your appetite. Your weight. Your nails. All of which are symptoms of a consumption."

Levon didn't know what to say. He had learnt from Marian and Luke's conversation that a consumption was an extremely worrying condition. The words that stayed in his memory were certain death.

"Does that mean…?" Levon couldn't even say it.

"Nothing is definite," Pete said in an entirely new tone. This tone was worse. Kindness in such a man was such a rarity.

He did not sound very certain.

"Is there anything that can be done?"

Pete just shook his head. "I'm sorry."

Levon went into a trance after that as he wondered back to camp, not knowing what to say to anyone.

He could not say if the walk was either much faster than usual or much longer. Time seemed to have changed.

"I think we should have a nice dinner tonight. I kind of have something to tell everyone," he told Amelia.

"I don't have time Levon," she told him, barley looking up from all of the laundry she was vigorously scrubbing. She was smiling as she did so but she pretended to sound angry. "You men are pigs. I have hours of cleaning to do and by then I will be far to exhausted. You are all extremely lucky that I have grown fond of you. Else I would have fled long ago. Ask Lilly."

So he did. It was always difficult to find her. She had an uncanny ability to flee whenever an unfavorable situation arose. This could be why many of us had heard so little of her. There had been nothing but unfavorable situations lately. Her dark hair and skin made it easy for his to slip into darkness so she could maintain the safety in her silence. Finally, Levon was able to track her and enquire about his dinner. Her response was as predicted. "I hate cooking for you lot. It is a thankless job that times a terrible amount of time and effort. And someone always finds something to complain about."

"I swear I will give Much a severe talk, and besides, after my news I do not think anyone will worry about the food."

She sighed. "Fine, but be warned. You know how impossible it is to get all the gang sitting and eating at one time?"

It turned out it was very hard.

I was asked first. But I was already on my way out of camp. "Sorry mate. Marian is forcing me to help her with wedding plans tonight. There shall be major sabotage," I told him, attempting at an evil laugh. This failed.

Luke was running about our medical area as he pulled out supplies and filled his satchel. "I am meeting Pete tonight. He's going to help me improve my stitching up a wound. You never know when you're going to need me to stitch you up." Luke told me. Levon severely doubted that he would need Luke to stitch him up any time soon. Or ever as the case turned out.

Matthew had been talking to his brother but also quickly leapt up to give his excuse as he too headed for the exit. "I promised that I would help Tuck with the new church decorations." Matthew said. "I could never refuse a man of the cloth."

John had recently joined Amelia with her large tub as he she forced him to assist her. All the while she talked endlessly about matters that appeared trivial to John as he pretended to listen. "Amelia said I had to help clean" John groaned. "Trust me, I would much rather be eating."

Michael and Much were running to catch up with me. "I will be helping Allen pretend to help Marian," said Michael, acting opposite to the best friend that he claimed to be to Marian.

"Why would I force myself to a whole night in everyone's company? So everyone has yet another time to be cruel to me?" Much complained. "Besides, I'm going with Allen and Michael to help Marian with wedding plans. Did you know that I'm friend with her now?" It was strange how excited this made him. Maybe the men around here really do treat him rough.

Thomas was enjoying his pre-tavern drink. This would be followed by many drinks at the tavern, and then a post-tavern drink. "I always go to the tavern on Sunday nights." It would kill me to break tradition, he told me. "And the same goes for Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and sometimes Saturdays. Ok fine, all Saturdays" He exaggerated, but only slightly.

Roger did not even pretend to be interested. "No" he said. Plain and simple

"Why not?" Levon said as he tried to get him to elaborate. "because I don't like you lot."

Will just coughed awkwardly and mumbled some lie. Levon did not think that he even said words. Only the occasion vowel.

Benny just shrugged "I don not wish to be the only one there. It sounds like you've failed so far."

"Robin can you please order everyone to stay for dinner?"

Levon had temporarily forgotten the current social state of our leader.

"I've learnt that if people want to do something they will do it. You can try as hard as you can. For almost a year practically. And still they will simply walk all over you."

Levon's temper was well and truly lost.

"You are all wasting your lives!" he yelled. We all stopped in shock. Levon never yelled.

"For once I have something to say and no one has time. Well we will have to miss dinner and cut right to the chase. That is what you all seem to enjoy doing. Well, I am dying."

Everyone's faces changed expression instantly. He stopped yelling.

"I saw Pete today. He said I have a consumption. The worst part is that none of you had the time to hear it. Or even notice that I've been sick these past few weeks."

The impact had been made. It was time for a dramatic exit. No one dared stop him as he walk out.

Unfortunately he was just heading off the castle to do the whole speech again when he told Marian.

Sure enough he was greeted with "sorry I simply can not talk right now. Do you know how hard it is to plan a wedding?"

"Well all I need is a little bit of your time. Then you will probably grant me more."

She was very confused. "I have a consumption."

He was given the whole night. Wedding plans were long since forgotten.

"You can't die" was her conclusion "You are one of the only sane people that I know."

"It's true" he told her. "Everyone is a little crazy. Dying puts things into perspective."

Levon could see she was close to tears.

"Don't you start," I told her, "you will get me going."

"But you're Levon. You were the one who helped me when I first started stealing from Prince John. You dressed up with me and helped me clear my name without complaint of the danger it put you in. You didn't approve but you risked your life anyway. You are one of the nice ones around camp who actually refrain from teasing Much and never lecture to me about Robin. Therefore I won't allow you to die."

He scoffed. "I don't know if you have much say in the matter. And what did I say about tears? I see you starting."

"Ok, I'm fine. No tears."

"So now I'm dying and shall be gone soon, you can honestly tell me what you feel about Robin and Guy."

"Can I have one night without a mention of them?"

"If tonight is my last night you will regret not getting your feelings out."

She sighed but gave in. "Well I was perfectly happy marrying Guy until Robin fake died. Up till then I had convinced myself I didn't have feelings for Robin. It all came back then. Now I know. I will always love Robin, more then I love Guy but it doesn't change anything. What if Robin was the one who was suddenly dying? Where would I be left? Living in a forest somewhere, wondering where my life went. At some point, people have to be sensible."

"You never know," I told her. "You could die tomorrow. Then would you regret not going with the option that would have made you happy."

"You are rather annoying when you are like this."

They ended up reminiscing about all their past times and saying goodbye a million times in case he died without seeing her again.

I felt rude, interrupting them.

"I figured you would be here," I told Levon.

"Did you plans fall through?"

I smiled, "come with me."

After escorted him back to camp where he was greeted by a peculiar sight. All the gang was gathered round, plates at the ready and guilty looks on their faces.

"I guess what we're trying to show is that we were being extremely rude before and we should have taken the time to just sit and listen." I told him.

"We swear we will take times to enjoy the finer things in life," John continued. "I swear to never help my wife clean again." She gave him a hard wallop, egging on al of our laughter.

Levon let a single tear go. We all groaned at him. But these were the moments that he was going to miss. Just being around gang members who had inevitably become friends.

"So can we eat now?" he asked, wiping away the tears.

Everyone snapped out of their awkward emotional stage and we sat down to the first mandatory gang group dinner.

Levon felt like something was missing and finally realised. Edging away from the table he approached Robin and said quietly, "isn't it custom for a dying man to be granted one final request?'

Robin didn't like the sound of where that was going and said, "I'm prepared for the worst."

"It's just, as I'm dying and all, I would kind of like all of my friends in one place."

He sighed and turned to the gang. "Are there any volunteers to go and get Marian?"

Roger practically leapt from his seat. "I'll do anything to avoid the emotional stage that I know is coming."

It was lucky that our camp was so close to Nottingham. Or unlucky, if you prefer to look at that way. Robin was trying not to. Everyone waited in suspense, wondering what would happen. Finally Roger returned with Marian edging behind, clearly on edge as the rest of us. I didn't expect Robin to even look at her but thankfully he was polite as he gestured to a chair beside Michael. Everyone let out their breaths as it was obvious that there would be no fighting tonight. They didn't directly talk to each other or anything but that would have been asking too much.

Benny stood up and announced "I now feel that it is time for a speech." Everyone groaned and tried to pull him down but he fought them off.

"It has been my privilege over this past year to be Levon's roommate and I hope it is not insensitive to state, that I hope in death he will finally be a sound sleeper. I feel that I should have honored those days during the first year when I had the cabin to myself and had quiet nights. But now, I guess I think I actually may miss your constant roaring."

"Kind rewords were never spoken," Levon said through his laughter.

More stories were told. More wine was drunk. And one of the best nights at camp was enjoyed.

Here is the part where I say that it was all a mistake.

Pete had misdiagnosed and Levon was perfectly fine.

Well I'm afraid that I cannot.

Levon died a few days later.

Everyone misses him. He was always the most cheerful one around camp. No one tells us to just sit and talk anymore.

We had a small service. We fired lit arrows into the lake in his memory.

It was a little overdone but he was always the one we would go to for ideas on funerals and things like that.

I would also like to say that we all appreciated life a little more. But once again I cannot. I can say that his dinners remained. Every Sunday it was mandatory for all members to be together and talk about non-outlaw related things.

So in short, Levon was one of the best gang members we ever had. He didn't die fighting but he still died doing what he loved. That was to make an impact. And he definitely did that.


	21. A Doomed Alliance

Levon's words stayed with us as we all contemplated the idea of wasting our lives away.

Thomas acted first. His best thinking always happened after a few rounds at the tavern.

"Move," he barked in his scariest voice as he approached the person sitting in his regular seat. There is nothing scarier than Thomas when he hasn't been given his fill and the poor man fled as if Prince John himself had ordered him.

"If you keep doing that I will have to ban you," Martha told him, handing him a mug.

"It's my seat I have a right to defend it" he replied.

She would never ban him. It was an empty threat and both knew of them knew it. She still gave him a harsh glare as she flounced off, leaving Thomas to contemplate her change of character. He was used to her being eternally tolerant after seeing him at his worst. Any other customer who had tried all the things he had tried over the years would surely have been banned.

Thomas wasn't sure if it was due to the large amount of ale he already consumed or genuine logic, but he began to see Martha in a different light.

He looked her up and down. Her fiery red hair definitely appealed to him. The money from the pub must mean she is well feed so she was not as thin as the poor folk scattered around Nottingham. Some may say she was a little too chubby but Thomas barley noticed. Her eyes are rather entrancing actually. A nice shade of blue. But one would not describe her as beautiful pursue. Thomas decided that there were far worse people to end up with. He was always such a romantic.

"You're too ugly for her," Roger said, rather rudely in Thomas' opinion but well placed in my own. This was later in the evening when Thomas expressed his concerns to Roger who had no wish to hear anything.

"Well she's always talking to me and being really friendly…"

"That is because you're a customer genius. Do you not see how friendly she is with everyone?"

This seemed to be the only logical explanation and Thomas accepted it.

What surprised the man was how disappointed he became.

Mark, Thomas' long time tavern friend, observed this on the next night. He was unable to stop laughing, "You're smitten aren't you. Don't you know that women are a nuisance?"

Now Thomas was the one laughing. "So why are you always attempting to talk to them? Attempting being the key word?" Mark was the kind of man who loved women. No woman in particular, just women in general. The trouble was that they don't love him.

"I'll admit that in the past there has been the occasional woman who has been rather crude towards me…"

Thomas choked on his ale at the absurdity of that comment.

"But I gamble that I can get Martha to kiss me before you."

Thomas could never turn down a bet. "I accept. We start now!"

"Alright," Martha yelled to all present. "It's closing time, get lost."

"We start tomorrow!" he said, just as cheerfully.

The next night, Thomas insisted on going to Locksley the next day for drop off much to our confusion.

"So Locksley aye?" Matthew said as he approached Luke. "Do you think we should stop and see Father?"

Luke pretended to consider. "No I'll pass."

"Why is Luke so against your Father?" Thomas asked.

"Luke and Father never got along. Father always had this image of the perfect son that neither of us could live up to. I just didn't think about it, Luke let it get to him. I think the main reason Luke joined the gang was to get away."

"I was only asking to be polite," Thomas said. "Anyway, last night I was a tad foolish while I was very drunk I made a bet stating that I could get Martha to kiss me before Mark could."

"You're right. That was foolish." Matthew replied and tried to walk away. Thomas wasn't letting me go that easily.

"Anyway, I need your help."

Matthew couldn't believe it. "You need help with women, and you're asking me. I'm flattered but confused. When's the last time I had any luck with women?"

"Well. I can't ask Robin. He's probably still sensitive and let's face, he hasn't had a lot of luck."

Matthew had never been more disgusted at the man's insensitivity.

"John doesn't know anything. Despite the fact that he's married. I have no idea how he got there. And have you ever seen any of the other men with women? You at least seem to have female friends."

"Why was I not informed of these so called friends?" Matthew asked but Thomas wasn't listening.

"Have you not noticed? When we make drop offs all the pretty young girls are interested in Robin. When they see that he's not interested they got straight to you."

"They do? Why does no one tell me?"

He was still ignored. "So will you please help me?"

"How can I help you with something that I don't even notice I do?"

"Well how do you talk to women that doesn't get you slapped?"

"I just talk to them like normal people."

"I should have known I wouldn't get any help from you" and he stormed off.

"Strange conversation" Matthew said to himself but still had time to notice his brother sneaking off.

"Don't run away from me" he yelled after him and ran to catch up. "He always asks about you. He misses you."

"Yeah right" was the only response Matthew could squeeze out of him.

"Alright everyone pick a partner. And you have to stop splitting up with them as soon as we get there. A partner is for safety purposes." Robin told us.

"I'm not going with you" Luke said to his brother.

Matthew sighed as he realised that this forced him to pair with Thomas. He knew that a pointless night awaited him.

Meanwhile Gisbourne was having just as much trouble.

I know this through my spies at the castle. And by this, I mean Annie. I feel spying could run in our family as she could retell to me practically exact events that occurred in the castle of which she was no where near.

Lately he had been little more than a slave to the Sheriff as he was forced to do every little task demanded of him. The Sheriff found great enjoyment in the fact and found great happiness in giving out the most demeaning task that his dark little mind could come up with. Gisbourne had never hated someone much but was still had to run to his side. Aside from Robin of course.

A shrill whistle was Gisbourne's beckoning call as he had to run to fall in step with his superior.

The Sheriff did not even bother to look at him as he barked out commands. "I'm shipping some important to goods to York and require you to go with them to ensure their safe arrival."

"Yes sir," Gisbourne told him. He had no other choice. He had given a lot of thought to the future. After the wedding will he still continue to work as the sheriff's personal sidekick? Before the killing Robin incident, the future was supposedly set. Prince John actually approved of him and he was going to become a Lord after the wedding. Now there was no knowing what would happen as the Prince continued to be furious at him. He blamed Gisbourne for Robin making off with all the tax money after being assumed dead at his hand. Regardless, being married to a Lady means he should still be given the Lord title.

"The Sheriff knows I may be out the door and is punishing me for it. He can't stand the thought that I am going to be higher than him soon," he groaned to some guard.

"I was sent to be given directions for the men you wish to take to York" he told Gisbourne, unsure of the personal conversation Gisbourne had tried to start with him.

"I want twenty of your best men," he ordered. The guard ran off as fast as his little legs would take him.

"Twenty men to ensure a torture weapon" came a voice from behind him. He turned to find Marian and his bad mood instantly went away. He could tell she was angry and that ruined his mood a bit. He gave her a confused look and she elaborated.

"The precious merchandise that you are escorting is the final ingredient in a concoction will become the ultimate weapon of the Holy Land. It can cause a man complete agony. I'm not sure of the exact effects but apparently it can create the feeling of agonising burning without the actual deep burns. It won't hurt anyone enough to kill someone, meaning that someone could be tortured for days without any risk of dying. They intend on using it on innocent people. But you're not going to let that happen."

"I'm not?"

"Because it isn't going to reach York."

"Your concern is admirable but if I don't deliver I will be killed and more will be sent. Someone who you cannot win over with that cute sad face. Besides it's not being used on innocent people. It is meant to be sent to the Holy land to use on Jews."

"And they are not innocent? And you really believe that it will simply be sent to the Holy land and be gone forever? A Sheriff who is just as cruel as our own will test it on multiple people and than samples shall be sent to every county in England to be used as the particular Sheriff sees fit. Prince John recommends it for all who refuse to pay taxes."

He knew it was time to calm her down. "I know you are very passionate…"

She cut him off, "are you really going to stand by and let this device be made?"

"To be honest yes."

She stormed off.

The next morning no one could find her. This was quite a regular occurrence for Marian and no one really reacted. Gisbourne was aware she liked to help us on occasion where she disguised herself and joined us in the dark of the night. However, this had ceased upon her engagement. Her new excuse was that she spends a lot of time at the church visiting Friar Tuck but no one is that appreciative of a childhood tutor, no matter how kind they were. But Gisbourne still wasn't worried.

When she didn't come back that night he began to grow suspicious.

He was completely worried when she was still gone the next morning so he went to only man he knew who would know anything about the outlaws. Friar Tuck.

"Why on earth do you think do you think I know anything about Robin Hood's men or the whereabouts of his camp" he sputtered, obviously very bad at lying.

"Look, I'm not stupid" Gisbourne told him "I know she goes there. And I'm not trying to catch anyone. I just need to know that she's alright"

He could see that Tuck did not trust him. Why should he trust some man who just sails on into England and breaks up a union that Tuck had seen form for years. When Robin had nearly died, it was the final straw for Tuck. Despite his futile attempts to hide it, it was obvious that Tuck hated Gisbourne as much as the rest of us. Yet he tried to remain civil.

Finally, he decided to temporarily give Gisbourne his trust. He was still careful. "I assure you. I do not know where Marian is and if I did know where Robin Hood's camp was or anything about it, I could assure you that she would not have been there in quite some time."

Tuck could see he was relieved at the fact she wasn't there but anxious about her whereabouts being unknown.

"Maybe she has eloped with Hood," Tuck joked.

Gisbourne took him seriously.

He chortled to show his good nature. "A joke my son."

Gisbourne still didn't laugh. He obviously didn't have a sense of humor.

Annie happened to be walking past at that point and enjoyed interfering in gossip.

"What are you worried about" Annie cut in. "I heard she just went off to York."

Gisbourne's face told Tuck and Annie that this was not a good thing.

"Why is that an issue?" Annie asked him.

"Because she is going to try and steal back a weapon that is very important to the Sheriff of York. You have no doubt heard rumors of the kind of man he is."

"Well he would surely have no reason to suspect her" Tuck decided.

"Prince John wrote ahead and told the Sheriff that any visitors he gets from England that aren't with the official party are to be kept under close surveillance secretly. They are expecting Hood. She stands no chance. Plus she has too much pride. She will believe that she can easily evade the Sheriff and will be sloppy," Gisbourne said.

Tuck looked across the square, hoping to find an answer. To his surprise he found one.

Robin Hood.

He was spying on the group of course. Sadly I had been dragged along.

"I have a plan" Tuck told Gisbourne. "Will you wait in the church a few moments?"

Thankfully he obliged and Tuck quickly made my way over to Robin. Annie was quickly bored and had wondered off to ruin someone else's day.

Robin looked ready to give Tuck a giant talk on faithfulness to ones friends and past students but Tuck didn't let him begin. "There's no time. Marian is in trouble and if you want to help her you'll follow me."

Thankfully, Robin didn't ask questions either and quickly went to the church. I wasn't sure if the invitation included me. "You too" Tuck decided. He whispered to me "if they get in a fight, I'll grab Gisbourne and you grab Robin."

Taking a deep breath, we headed to the church.

Gisbourne's face darkened with anger the second he saw Robin. Both men instantly reached for their swords before Tuck and I leapt in. "Gentlemen please remember that you are in the house of the Lord," Tuck said.

Neither trusted the other and kept a hand on their sword, ready to leap at any second. It was obvious that neither was going to give in so Tuck had to jump in. "So for the purpose of this talk, I am taking your swords from you. Allen, take Robin's."

Both men glared as we others took their weapons and both fists quickly curled, now ready to punch if necessary. "Would you stop this for just this once?" Tuck told them, not yelling as they were in a church but certainly raising his tone. "Fine. Go on hating each other. Sure, Marian will die but as long as you hate each other."

That did it; both released their hands and finally listened to Tuck.

"Gisbourne, kindly tell Robin what you know."

Gisbourne made it look like this was extremely painful. "I assume you already know about the York issue."

"Of course" Robin said, practically spitting out the words.

"Well do you know Marian took it upon herself to go there herself without knowing that Prince John warned the Sheriff of York that people would come and to be ready?"

Robin didn't know that and his anger turned to worry.

"The funny thing is, Prince John gave that warning with you in mind" Guy continued. "So really, this is all your fault."

"Well I haven't seen you doing anything to stop her going."

"Enough!" Tuck yelled. His voice echoed around the church and stunned everyone present. He quickly calmed myself and said in his normal quiet tone. "I propose a partnership. If Gisbourne makes Robin one of his men it can get both of you into York and in good position to save her."

I snorted. Tuck ignored me.

"I am not working with him." Robin said.

"It's not happening" Gisbourne agreed. They both looked away, disgusted that they agreed on something.

"I'll get my men together and we can go in save her," Robin told Tuck.

"As if you would ever get in," Gisbourne told him. "My men have access and I can get her out safely."

"Do you want me to yell again?" Tuck asked.

I was terrified at the thought.

"It's true, Robin. You won't be able to get in there. The security isn't like here. You would be killed instantly."

Gisbourne smirked. Tuck wasn't sure whether this was because of Tuck telling Robin he was wrong or the image of Robin dying instantly.

"And you" Tuck turned on him. "You do not have the brain power to get her out of there without getting yourself captured as well."

Now Robin smirked.

"Do you see my point?" Tuck asked, wondering if the message had finally sunk it. "You need each other. Or rather, Marian needs both of you."

Gisbourne was the first to crack. "I could probably get him into the guards who are going."

"That's what I wanted to hear." Tuck said.

"But I couldn't get his men in. Too many new guards appearing out of nowhere would be suspicious. They would never allow it."

"I understand" Tuck told him. "It will be just you and Robin."

I walked to the side of the church and proceeded to hit my head on the wall a few times.

"They're going to die you know" I told Tuck.

This is what Tuck feared too.


	22. Journey to York

Chapter Twenty two

Robin was ecstatic to be the thorn in Gisbourne's side. There may be nineteen other guards in their company but he knew that his mere presence was causing Gisbourne constant internal agony.

I may not have been there, but I demanded a thorough recount upon his return.

Apparently trouble found them at an incredible pace.

"Evening Gents," came a voice from the trees, "Any chance of a kindly donation?" Gisbourne quickly glanced at Robin but the look on his face told Gisbourne that these were not the Merry Men. These were outlaws were not, let's say, as 'wholesome' as we were. Their presence was often with an instant feeling of danger.

Robin recognised them instantly when the appeared. This gang lacked the skill of ours but made up for it in numbers. These numbers were beyond the term impressive. The nineteen other guards tried to hide their trembling lips and shaking knees, as their eyes grew wide in panic.

Everyone drew their weapons.

Before each battle there is a moment. This moment is a small pause where a person observes their opponent and can practically predict the outcome. The outcome of this battle was looking rather uncertain. These men had more than simply numbers in their favour. Even Robin, the most courageous person I knew, felt rather uneasy at the sight of this army.

Then they were in combat.

"The things I'll do for women," Robin muttered as he knocked another of their men off his feet.

To everyone's surprise, the fight didn't last long. As much as Robin hated to admit it but Gisbourne was a skilled fighter and between the two of them we defeated many of their men.

However, most of the men on Gisbourne and Robin's side were knocked down and the others fled back to Nottingham in fear.

Of course, only Gisbourne and Robin were left standing. They didn't say a word but continued on. At least Robin didn't have to keep up the pretense of being a guard. Before he had to clench his fists every time Gisbourne gave an order and he had to obey. They walked in silence for a long time.

"It's getting late" Robin told him. "We should set up camp."

"We don't have time" Gisbourne replied. "We have to get there now."

"We are no use if we're tired."

"We don't have time," he replied, his tone starting to rise.

"I care about her too!" Robin yelled.

Gisbourne was silent but after a pause he sat down. Robin started gathering firewood. To his surprise, Gisbourne helped. Glaring continued the entire time.

Amelia had packed Robin some food and he set out cooking some meat on the fire. He couldn't help but notice that Gisbourne had nothing. There was no way Robin would share. Pride would ensure that any food would not be accepted anyway. Still, Robin's conscience was playing up and he decided to offer him something on the basis that we couldn't save Marian if he passed out from hunger.

"You want some food?"

"No."

"You need food."

"No."

"No one can say I didn't try."

Robin didn't eat it all and left it in a place the Gisbourne could easily steal it when Robin fell asleep. It was still there in the morning.

They left again and couldn't get to York fast enough. This was easily the most awkward day of both of their lives. The silence was practically piercing but there was nothing that could be said.

Enter the Sheriff of York. It was hard to see anything other than his fat. He was one of those men who ate a lot just to prove how much he could, due to how rich he was. It was clear that he was also balding but he did not want to flaunt this trait. He wore a poorly coloured hair piece that did little for hiding his shame. He was very loud too. It was odd how he made all present miss our own Sheriff and his slight sense of normality.

He shouted his greeting to Gisbourne and gave him what he thought was a friendly hit on the back. Robin could see it nearly knocked him off his feet.

"Where are your guards man?" the Sheriff shouted again, despite the fact that they were but three feet from him.

"I'm afraid we ran into some trouble. We met some outlaws…"

"Don't talk to me about outlaws" he belted out. He spat too as he talked. Robin was glad to have the guards helmet protecting my face. All the while he smirked at Gisbourne's lack of helmet.

"I have had enough of outlaws. Especially that Robin Hood. How your sheriff has failed to catch him I shall never understand."

The Sheriff stopped talking to request some food and Gisbourne saw it as an opportunity.

"I believe the Lady Marian may have come ahead from us and…"

The Sheriff loved interrupting. "Yes she's here."

"That's great" Gisbourne said. "Well where is she?"

"In the dudgeons" he replied, matter of factly.

Neither of the men was surprised. Regardless, both of their expressions changed in shock. The Sheriff grew boarded and began to walk off, motioning for them to follow. He seemed to think the conversation had finished.

"Look" Gisbourne said as he ran after him. "Marian has this" he paused as he tried to find the right word, "condition which makes her have strange impulses…"

Once again he was interrupted. "All I know is that she tried to steal from me. The very thing that Prince John and I have been developing this past year. If anyone else had done that I would have beheaded them on the spot but since she is a Norman and she is the prince's niece I have let the matter slide. She will be released when our weapon is safely on its way to the Holy Land and I know she won't interfere again."

We shared a worried look. Robin couldn't let the weapon get made and Gisbourne knew that Marian would never forgive him if he let the weapon be made.

"My guard shall escort you to your room and I'll give you some time to recover from the journey. Then we must get down to business."

Robin was unsure about what would happen to him at this point. No one had addressed him in the whole time they had been there. Being a guard is a thankless job. Robin felt slightly guilty now to all the guards he had fought and injured.

They finally got to Gisbourne's room. The castle was unfavorably large. Not as large as Nottingham of course but Robin had grown up in that castle. This one was unknown and it as going to be hard to know where to go when running for his life, which was bound to happen.

"So what's your master plan," Gisbourne asked with a little bit too much sarcasm.

"Well we have to get the weapon out and then…"

He rudely interrupted. "No we have to save Marian."

Robin sighed and tried to explain to him, speaking as if he were a child. "That weapon will hurt a lot of people. We will save Marian but we need to get the weapon as well."

"And if we fail."

Robin snorted. "Have you forgotten who I am?"

I had jumped into action immediately after the two enemies had departed, probably to their deaths. I had tried to talk Robin into letting me come but he insisted that I stay and finish making drop offs.

It was obvious that I would disobey. I waved Robin goodbye and as soon as Robin turned the corner, I was off. I knew where to find Thomas so I ran there first. The tavern was rather empty so I quickly found Michael and Matthew and ran to them.

"We have to go right away…" I tried to say but Michael shushed me.

I quickly understood and words left me as I saw him.

It was Thomas, well at least I thought it was.

He was dressed absurdly. The only way it could have been chosen was by a blind man. A very cruel blind man. It could have been all right, if it weren't for all the bright orange and red mixed with the feathers and jewels that made it look difficult for Thomas to raise his head.

"It's brilliant isn't it?" Michael whispered to me.

"What did you do?" I asked as he smuggled his laughter.

"What?" Michael asked as he noticed his laughter.

"You don't seriously believe this is going to work?"

He smiled an evil smile. "Of course not. The dummy had it coming. He is way to easy to sabotage."

I hate to admit it, but I had completely forgot about Robin and watched the disaster unfolded.

Thomas strolled up to the bar. "I told him to walk like he is the richest man in the world and to remember to move his shoulders."

Right now he was rolling each shoulder as he walked. "I told him to look as if he couldn't stand the smell of something." He was doing it very well.

"Martha. Get here now." He yelled at her.

"And finally" Matthew finished "I told him to act like the cruelest man in the history of cruelty and act as if he were disgusted by her. Sabotage is sweet"

"Martha!" he yelled again as she took too long.

She clearly didn't like being yelled at. "What?" she asked him angrily.

"Do what you do best and pour me some ale"

She was very confused.

"Did I miss it?" Mark leapt beside us, pulled up a chair and was riveted Thomas.

"That's Mark. He made the bet with Thomas." Michael told me.

He nodded to me in greeting. "You're a brilliant man." I told him.

Meanwhile Martha was getting over the shock and was beginning to get angry.

"Look" Thomas was saying "I don't pay you to stand there and look pretty. If I did, I would want my money back." He slowly looked her up and down.

"How long until she slaps him?" Mark asked as he held back laughter.

"Not very" I told him.

He leant forward and began to whisper to her. They all leaned in to hear the insults he had chosen. She drew away before we could hear and we all dove back in our seats to hide our eavesdropping. Her face was turning red with anger as she shook her head at him. Then she did the unexpected. She leaned forward and kissed him. Our mouths dropped open. No one could believe it.

It continued for what seemed like an age. It was impossible to look away.

Finally he pulled away. "Farewell" he said and walked off. She looked heartbroken. "Close your mouths boys" he told them "and pay up."

Mark couldn't close his mouth or look away from Thomas. He fumbled in his pocket and handed some coins to Thomas.

"Thanks for the advice Michael. You are brilliant."

None of them could talk. "So when did you get here Allen?"

"When did I get here?" I muttered to myself. "Oh yes, I forgot, we have to go help Robin! There's no time to explain but he went to York with Gisbourne and assuming they get there without killing each other they are going to need our help. We have to get everyone else now and leave."

They were still confused but got up and began to plan where the other outlaws are.

"You know, it's most likely that they are dead," Matthew said with a sigh.

I ignored him but secretly agreed.

Meanwhile in York, things weren't going well.

The bang nearly sent Gisbourne flying backwards. "And with that we should have our weapon," the Sheriff said proudly as the explosion died down. Having just thrown in the final ingredient it was nearly time.

"Is it supposed to make that bang?" one of the Sheriffs men asked.

The Sheriff turned with an evil look on his face. "I wasn't aware you were an expert. How could you possibly know what it's supposed to do as it's never done before?"

The man quickly looked towards the ground and began murmuring for forgiveness.

"Be silent or I may have to use you to be the first tester." The man paled.

"Are there any volunteers?"

Gisbourne wanted nothing more than to volunteer Robin. After all to everyone in this room Robin was his servant and had to do everything Gisbourne said.

"No one?" The sheriff was getting bored. "All right you" he said as he pointed to a young serving boy. He couldn't be older than twelve. Guards grabbed the boy and dragged him to the middle of the room. All the boy could do was whimper, his eyes wide in terror.

Gisbourne heard Robin cough behind him. His expression and a small nod gave permission.

"Excuse me Sire" Gisbourne said "but I would consider if it a personal favour if the first test could be my guard. He angered me on the trip over and I can think of no better punishment."

The Sheriff considered. "I'm too nice" he decided ,"bring your man forward."

Gisbourne was happy to grab Robin as forcefully as he could and shoved him forward. The sheriff took his time looking Robin up and down. Trying to think of the best place to hurt him.

"I'll start small," he told the crowd. "Just to ensure it works."

With that he grabbed Robin's hand and plunged it into the barrel. Robin's face contorted in agony as he tried not to cry out. The Sheriff enjoyed this and held his hand for a long time. Gisbourne should have stepped in but he found that he was enjoying it too much.

Finally he removed Robin's hand. "Now honestly" he asked him "how did that make you feel?

"Not the greatest" Robin replied, causing some snickers around the room.

The Sheriff didn't like this. He went to pat Robin on the back but instead pushed him instead. His arms plummeted into the barrel due to the guard uniform leaving his arms bare. This time he could not control his cries. He was left him in longer this time.

"That's enough" Gisbourne stepped in.

"You said he needed to be punished. I agree."

Everyone in the room averted their eyes. It didn't seem right to watch a man in so much agony.

Finally it stopped and Gisbourne let out the breath he didn't realise he was holding.

"Now" he asked again "how did that make you feel?"

Robin thought about his answer. "Bad" he finally responded bluntly, still not wanting to admit defeat by giving the Sheriff the pleasure of long drawn out response.

"Good" he said and turned to address to Gisbourne "Now I'll need at least fifty barrels of this for the Holy land and fifty more my own personal stock. For now. Prepare for a lot of work gentlemen. Now everyone get out, I'm bored.

"First," Gisbourne said, "You have your precious powder. I think it's time you released Marian."

"Not until that powder is safely on its way."

"What can one woman possibly do?"

He was getting sick of Gisbourne's complaining.

"Fine!" he yelled and quickly regained his calm tone "but if anything goes wrong with the weapon I will be holding her responsible. I'll have someone bring her to your room"

They took that as their cue to leave and quickly headed off to the room.

"I'm fine by the way," Robin said.

"Damn," Gisbourne responded.

He could see that Robin was not fine. His arms were breaking out in deep blisters.

The wonderful silence had returned.

Marian was very confused when she finally showed up. Her eyes flicked between them continuously as she tried to figure out if the scene before her was really happening.

"We are real," Gisbourne informed her. She was still very confused.

Gisbourne was rather upset at her lack of affection towards him. She never kissed him when Robin was around. She always thought that it would be preferable if they both lived.

"We will explain later but right now we need a plan that doesn't end up pointing to you because if anything goes wrong with the weapon you will be blamed." Robin told her.

"Well what do we know?" she asked.

"He's perfected it," he told her. "And it's pretty powerful."

"Has he tested it?"

"Unfortunately yes" and he held out his arms. Robin is my best friend, but even I thought that it was bad how he was playing on her sympathy in front of Gisbourne. It was working too. She was buying it and was now examining his arms.

"I thought we needed a plan?" Gisbourne said, hating how close they were.

"Right" she said, stepping away from him quickly as she realised what Gisbourne must be thinking.

Sadly for Gisbourne, Robin had an idea and he didn't. "Well what I was thinking is we need a quick and easy way to get rid of all the barrels. If we can mix some pitch into each barrel it won't make a big change to the contents and one fire arrow can blow them all up."

"Then you and your men can intercept them on their way to the docks and it can not possibly be traced back to me and they all disappear with a bang" Marian finished "It's great!"

"How are we going to get the pitch in the barrels and what's to stop them simply making more?" Gisbourne added. I should have known that he would add something cynical.

That stopped their brilliant plan. "Well what are the ingredients?" Marian asked. "Surely if the results are so individual then the ingredient should be individual as well."

None of them knew. "Well I guess we will have sneak down to the production rooms and figure that out." Gisbourne decided.

"Sure" Robin said but grimaced in pain as he tried to grab his sword.

"Robin you can't go" Marian told him. "You can't even hold a sword. I'll go."

"And get arrested again?" Robin pointed out.

There was silence as Gisbourne realised the horrible situation he was about to be in. This meant he would have to leave them alone.

"Do you mind Guy?" she asked. He knew that if he said no he would sound like a jealous git but if he said no than Robin would win.

"Fine" he decided. But he pulled her in for a long kiss, in case he got any ideas.

He could see Robin getting angry. He deserved it.

With one lingering glare at Robin, he backed out of the room.

"Finally, he's gone. Let's run away," Robin said happily.

She glared at him. "Or not" he added.

"You're just trying to make him mad now" she decided as she poured some water ready for treatment.

"Of course I don't. And if I do, it's only because it's second nature to me now."

She was trying not to laugh. His charm was working.

"So…" he began.

"No talking" she told me "I need to concentrate."

It was blatantly obvious that she didn't.

"So how were the dudgeons?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

She paused, considering whether or not to answer. "Dirty" she finally told him.

"And what were you thinking coming here by yourself and trying to defeat the Sheriff."

She shrugged and gave no answer.

"You could have come to me," he offered.

"No I couldn't" she responded, "you would have taken it the wrong way."

"And what way is that?"

She ignored him again.

"Why didn't Gisbourne help you?"

"He thought it was too dangerous"

His smirk annoyed her. "He is the one risking his life right now."

"And you are the one who told me to stay."

She went back to ignoring and his 'charm' and refused to speak to him again.

"Done," she announced and quickly turned to pack away her things. Robin reached out and grabbed her by the arm; ignoring the pain it caused his still bruising arms. She turned to yell at him but was thrown off by how close they were. All he had to do was lean forward and he would be kissing her. Sadly his thoughts had taken too long and she had come to her senses. This time he let her go.

Gisbourne came back and Robin had sadly made no progress since the kiss that almost but never happened. Unfortunately Gisbourne had.

"I put the pitch in the barrels they had and got a list of the ingredients" he said with a flourish, presenting it to Marian. He made Robin sick with his cockiness.

"There is more" he continued "The main ingredient, of which I cannot pronounce, can only be found in a mine close to Nottingham which should be easy to destroy. So if we destroy the only barrels they have here we can cut off the last of it."

She was ecstatic and threw her arms around him; no longer caring that Robin was there. Or quite possibly, she knew he was there and wanted to prove a point.

And still there was almost a whole day to fill.

A normal day had never passed so slowly. Marian did her best to keep her distance from both men in a feeble attempt to keep the peace. It worked well until there was a slight problem. Gisbourne eventually found her, and with a severe lack of concern informed her, "We've lost your outlaw. I think that makes now a rather good time to leave."

She tried to make her displeasure at his comment obvious with a slight head tilt and raised eyebrows. "He is not 'my' outlaw," she said in a dark tone. "And you know very well that we can't just leave."

His disconcert only continued. "Well I suppose that we had better find him. Not that I care but he is probably going to get us all arrested."

The situation did little more than create anger toward both men as Marian sighed in a frustrated manner and began to question nearby guards about his whereabouts. It didn't take long. A largely built guard was all too happy to inform them, "your guard was dragged off by Lady Eve early in the afternoon. Not that he minded."

Gisbourne did little to hide his amusement as he chuckled quietly. "Why am I not surprised," he said happily. Marian only glared at him as she gained directions to Lady Eve's quarters. This glare may not have been the wisest of actions as it sent Gisbourne into a jealous and worried frenzy. "Leave him be," he said, almost begging. "Why would you care anyway?" He obviously hoped that she would declare a severe lack of caring and would follow him away.

No such luck. She paused, taking a quick deep breath, shoulders snapping down. This was a clear sign of her getting even more annoyed and Gisbourne retreated slightly. "We are here to protect those who cannot protect themselves." These words were said with an odd calm tone. This was gone as she continued. "Not to fool around! Now let's go get him."

The walk to her quarters was silent. Marian began to realise how she must appear to her betrothed and attempted to mask her feelings. Gisbourne knew to keep his tongue, knowing that another fight over Robin would not work in his favour.

"Lady Marian to see Lady Eve," Marian said as she announced herself to the guard at the door.

"On what business?" he replied. The man seemed very tired and uninterested but Marian could easily ignore such things. There was something familiar about his actions however that made her pause for a moment. But only for a moment.

"To retrieve a man from my service. One who has displeased me."

He raised an eyebrow. "She has your guard? You'll never get him back."

Gisbourne snickered but Marian remained unmoved. "Would you kindly check?" Marian said through gritted teeth.

The guard looked as if there were many a thing he would rather do as a crashing sound protruded from the room. With a deep sigh he said, "wait here," and let himself into the room.

Glaring at Gisbourne continued as he attempted to mask the snickering. "Don't say a word," she said slowly.

The Guard returned quickly, seemingly glad to be out of there. "Kindly allow her a few mere moments," he informed them, "she is just re-dressing."

Marian let out a small subdued gasp and Gisbourne could do little to stop the laughter. "And my Guard?" she asked, arms crossed in a battle stance.

"He is helping her."

Gisbourne went into a full on laughing fit as Marian stormed through the door and he followed. All anger and laughter was gone as the purveyed the scene. Lady Eve was in fact dressing and Robin was indeed helping her. What anyone had failed to realise was that she was a four-year-old child. As Robin struggled with the fastenings of her gown, she nattered away to him in barley audible words, clearly smitten. All the while he nodded along, now and then uttering a word of agreement as he pretended to understand. Marian was clearly lost for words and Gisbourne was kicking himself for not having the same idea of using a child to win her favour. Finally, little Evie noticed her visitors and instantly turned shy and silent. Robin was astounded at the silence of the crazed child he had just witnessed and finally saw the others. "So that's all it takes to quieten you down Evie," he said with a smile. She nestled up against him as he picked her up. "Well you don't need to worry, these are nice people. Well, one of them is." Evie did not understand the joke and his her face even deeper into his shoulder. She whispered something into his ear and he responded, "She is very nice. And yes, she is very pretty."

"Hello Eve," Marian said, in the kindest tone she could. It didn't take a lot of effort to accomplish this. Marian seemed to have fallen in love with Evie shortly after seeing her. Evie reminded both Robin and Marian of a younger Marian. Every thing seemed the same, right down to the exhausted an un-amused guard assigned to her. Robin held Evie very close who, for her part, seemed fascinated by Marian. Daringly, she reached out and played with a long golden curl.

Robin feigned exhaustion, saying, "you're too heavy Evie! You make my arms ache. I think you're eating too much!" The young girl giggled at the insult. "I think I may have to ask Lady Marian to hold you for a moment. Is that alright?"

Evie seemed secretly delighted as she nodded and held her arms out to Marian. Marian happily received her, despite her hair becoming the new play item. "That is a pretty dress Evie. Did Robin help dress you?"

Evie nodded her head at a rapid pace but giggled as she said, "he did it wrong!"

"I'm not surprised," Marian said. "Will you let me fix?"

Once again, the head powered on. "Do my hair too?" she said and Marian happily agreed.

Gone was the silent child and her place was madness as Marian could do little more than nod along as the child rambled at an unbelievable speed. Robin stood beside Gisbourne, clearly triumphant. "A child Hood?' Gisbourne asked, feigned boredom. "Is that really the only person who would con into spending time with you?"

"Well what the alternative?" Robin said with a sly smile. "Bonding time with you Gis?"

Gisbourne shuddered. "The very thought! Even being in the same room as you pains me. I best be on my way. Marian, are you coming?"

Marian was clearly not ready to leave. Evie was clearly not ready for to leave as well as clung to her. "You said you'd do my hair!"

"I did promise," Marian said apologetically to Gisbourne. He glared at Robin as he stormed away in defeat.

"Come play with us!" Evie demanded, all thought of hair forgotten as she flung small dolls at Marian. "I'm the princess," she announced proudly. "You can be the hero."

"Why thank you," Marian said, taking her doll and smiling haughtily at Robin. "Hear that? The Hero! And who might you be?"

"I'm the bad guy!" he said with pride, holding up his figure. "The badest of the bad to be exact."

Evie giggled as Marian raised an eyebrow. The rules were quickly announced as Evie was eager to play. "The Princess had to marry the bad guy because he is rich but she doesn't want to because he is silly. She wants to marry the hero because he is nice and she likes him better."

There was a long pause as Marian slowly turned to glare at Robin. "And did Robin make up that story Evie?"

She shook her head, happily naïve and prepared to play. "Honestly, Marian," Robin said, pretending to be hurt. "I have better things to do than train a small child to speak the truth."

"The truth?" Marian said angrily but had to stop with Evie tugging at her sleeve.

"Come on! You have to come save the Princess."

"Actually, I was thinking, maybe the princess does want to marry the bad guy because he is not that bad."

Both Evie and Robin shook their heads at the obviously wrong and twisted idea. "Why wouldn't she want to be with the hero?" Evie said in confusion.

"Marian is just being silly," Robin told her with a smile. "And besides, I am playing the bad guy and I know that he is doing everything possible to ensure that the princess stays away from the hero."

"Or maybe the princess has no wish to be around the hero," Marian said haughtily.

"I think she does. But she is afraid to leave the bad guy because of what everyone will think."

"And I think that the hero should mind his own business and leave the princess be!"

Evie was clearly bored of the banter that she could not participate in. "I don't want to play anymore," she said and leapt on Marian's lap. "Do my hair?"

They all knew that it was foolish to try and travel during night through Sherwood but the idea of Robin and Gisbourne staying in one place also seemed unwise. Eventually the threat of dangerous outlaws won and they decided to stay the night. Unfortunately the Sheriff had never made any mention as to where Robin was supposed to sleep.

"There is no way I am going to any servants quarters."

"Why it's where you belong," Gisbourne retorted.

"Enough!" Marian yelled. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think the two of you will have to share this room."

Both quickly went on to list the reason why this would be impossible. It was impossible to make out any actual sentences from this. The odd word could be heard and this was normally insulting or rude. Or both. "What I wouldn't give to be able to do a Much whistle," Marian said to herself. She saw that both were sitting on the bed and took her chance. "Ok listen. The two of you are now going to play an extreme game of chicken."

Gisbourne looked confused while Robin looked understanding but disbelieving. "The rules are simple," Marian continued, "and the rules state that the first one to get off that bed will forever be known as the chicken."

"The chicken?" Gisbourne asked.

"The supreme chicken and extreme coward of all things manly," Robin explained, "we made up this game many years ago."

"All you need to know," Marian said "is that the weaker man will be the first one of the bed. And neither of you want to be that."

It was clearly going to be a long night. Marian prayed for their safety as she went off to her room and wondered if either would be alive in the morning.

Both men did everything they could to ensure that the other left. This involved fake snoring, tossing, turning, kicking, fake sleep talking and the occasional fake sleep punching.

But finally morning came and Marian allowed the game to end with neither being named the chicken. Both instantly leapt from the bed, rubbing at themselves to get the stench of the other off. Marian sighed at the immaturity of men and set about to packing.

The plan was set and nothing could go wrong.

They didn't know that the sheriff was extremely alert and had noticed the loss of some of his pitch supply and the slightly different texture of the weapon.

"Well it's been a pleasure being here" Gisbourne told the sheriff "but we must return now that the weapon is ready."

"Actually I don't think it's ready" they all paused, dreading what was coming. He slowly approached them. "I think it's been tampered with." He grabbed Marian suddenly making her jump and held her in a death grasp. Gisbourne and Robin were restrained by guards despite their desperate struggles.

"What is the meaning of this" Gisbourne yelled.

"Sorry Gisbourne" the Sheriff said "She has tapered with the weapon and I can't have you helping your little fiancé."

She was struggling but was no match for him. She was barley half his size and he was strong. "I think," he told her, "that we should test if it still works" and dragged her towards a barrel.

"Stop this" Gisbourne yelled but the Sheriff wasn't listening.

Suddenly there was a crash and the gang leapt through a giant window. They were all armed and ready to fight. The guards dropped us in shock and Robin and Gisbourne turned, gave them a hard punch and took their swords.

Robin had wanted to fight this Sheriff for a long time and was going to enjoy this battle.

Gisbourne got to him first so Robin settled for some guards.

I took special time in between guards to hit Robin as hard as I dared. "Don't ever leave with an enemy again" I yelled but had to cease my lecture and go back to fighting.

Before long we had beaten all of his men. The victory didn't last as I noticed Matthew on the floor with Marian. "The sheriff threw her hard against the wall. Her head collided with mighty force and Matthew was unable to revive her.

"Luke" I yelled and he ran forward. There was a steady trail of blood coming from her head and going down the floor.

Luke looked worried. We could hear guards coming. He quickly picked her up and looked for exits. "Robin, take care of the weapon." I quickly looked around for fire. "Here!" Gisbourne grabbed the flame off the wall and ran towards the barrels. Robin lit another torch and followed him.

Thanks to the pitch the barrels burned fast. As they burned, Robin and Gisbourne easily defeated any guards with the foolishness to fight against them.

"We have to go" Michael yelled to them.

"How is she" Gisbourne and Robin asked at the same time.

Benny came to talk to us. "Luke says she should be fine. She's actually starting to wake up but she's not quite with us yet. But she is asking for Robin."

Gisbourne was crestfallen as Robin ran in. She kept coming in and out of consciences but what remained was what how she was calling his name. Gisbourne remained out of the room. He didn't want to hear it.

Eventually she managed to stay awake and we took the opportunity to get out of there. Michael had stolen some horses and we set off riding back to Nottingham. It was clear that Marian couldn't hold herself upright long enough to ride by herself. I quickly suggested that she share with me so as to avoid the obvious fight that was building. Gisbourne looked as if he didn't really need an excuse fight now. It was an extremely silent ride. Anything with Gisbourne there seems to equate to silence. Robin found himself oddly used to it.

When we hit Sherwood Forest it was time to part ways. Robin jumped off his horse to help Marian down.

The look Gisbourne gave him made Robin step back. I helped her down and then gave her a leg up onto Gisbourne's horse. She gave Robin an apologetic look as they rode away. I knew it well. It said 'I'm sorry I gave you false hope but I am still marrying him.'

"So what is this I hear about you kissing come bar maid?" Much asked Thomas as we headed back to camp.

"It was all thanks to Michael's advice" Thomas responded.

"What did I miss?" Robin asked Matthew.

It would be old news soon. This is what happens to everything in the gang. Something bigger comes along and the old is forgotten. Therefore Thomas milked it for as long as he could. He considered not going to the tavern that night but he had a job to do.

But how could he possibly stay away?


	23. The Lost Spark

Chapter Twenty Three

29th October 1190

6th November 1190

Anyone who knew her could tell you that Annie loved her sleep. This made it all the more aggravating for her to be shaken awake at some ungodly hour to Marian's urgent whisperings.

She had been deep in sleep and Marian's words were taking time to form proper sounds. "Marian, you know I love you but if you don't let me sleep, I will push you out of the window."

"But I've been having this dream-"

"You're told old for nightmares," Annie practically hissed. "Now go tell someone else and let me sleep!"

Marian sighed. "So who do you think I should tell about the reoccurring dreams and feelings that tell me to forget about marrying Guy and to finally be with Robin?"

Annie was instantly sitting up, eyes wide open and with a look of panic on her face. With that same intense speed, she had a pillow in her hand and was hitting her cousin with it.

"Are, you, crazy?" she managed to say between hits. Poor Marian had no opportunity to defend herself. Finally Annie stopped, her mousey hair was now widely frizzed from the mixture of previous sleep and the sudden physical activity. "Tell me everything," she said, trying to sound as calm as she could. Marian was extremely cautious after seeing the lingering look of insanity that lay deep in Annie's eyes.

"Well, you know how I said that I hadn't seen Robin since York? Well I have. He came to see me about a week ago.'

"I was cautious of course but decided to hear him out. It seemed that all he wanted was to be friends again."

"Friends?" Annie said, with a disgusted and disbelieving tone. "Really?"

"I reacted like that too but a lot of what he said made sense. He said "We were friends for a good five years. We were engaged for one. And now you have hated me for almost a year. Our previous history shows that we are obviously best at being friends. We should be experts at it. How is it fair that you are cut from my life completely?"

Annie scoffed. "And you believed all this?"

Marian looked a little embarrassed as she said, "I suppose I just wished to spend time with him as well. Well, we thought that we would try to break into the main treasury in the north wing. He already had a guard uniform and he would pretend to be my guard so he had easy access around the castle. It would have been easy save for that sleeping guard in the doorway. There was only one of him admittedly and admittedly yes he was talented with a sword but clearly we outnumbered him in number and skill. But that seemed too easy and we began to think of alternate ways around him. Some were down right ludicrous and we just ended up in fits of laughter. I guess that we got a little loud and suddenly his snoring stopped. For some crazy reason, I thought it wise to step around from the corner we had been hiding behind to investigate his state of conciseness. Thankfully Robin was no so dimwitted and pulled me back, quickly twisting me around so my back was to the wall. He stood extremely close to me, probably hoping to minimalize shadows or something.'

'Then the snoring started again and it seemed we were safe. I felt the laughter starting again and he had to stifle his own laughter to silence me.'

'But then something happened. I can't explain it. It was just, he was there and I was there. There was something about his eyes and I couldn't look away. He was very still as both of waited for the other to do something first. Than I came to my senses and practically ran away.'

'Unfortunately he followed. He said, "so that's it then? I can't be in your life at all?"

"I didn't know what to say. Eventually I mumbled out, "I guess not."

"He got quite angry, saying, "how is any of this fair?"

"I had to tell him, "none of it is. But this is just the way things have to be."

Annie took a few moments to reply. "Well that seemed to go great. Why do you have a problem?"

"Because of the dreams I've been having. Where we're in the same situation and this time I don't stop him."

Annie couldn't bear to hear anymore of this nonsense and slapped Marian as hard as she dared. Now my darling sister had never had much strength but the shock probably added to the intense pain that was racing on Marian's face.

"You need to gain control of yourself. You are not doing anyone any favors by spending time with him. You are only hurting Guy, confusing yourself and far be it from me to defend that outlaw, but you're also hurting him. It's time to cut all ties. Face it, that friendship is dead. Being lovers is out of the question. So it's time to say goodbye."

I wonder what hurt more, the slap or the words. Either way, Marian silently got off the bed and headed back to her own room, praying the dreams would cease.

They didn't.

Luckily Annie told me everything shortly after. This was far from a kind gesture. She simply was ensuring that plans went that the way that she wished. That is why she practically yelled at me, "keep your pathetic outlaw friend away from our cousin. He is ruining her life!"

She also told me everything that Marian told her in confidence. All the while, I was insulted that Marian never consulted in me. Therefore, I knew that my approach had to change.

I sent Michael to console her, with instruction of repeating every last work to me.

He had no qualms with deceiving her. That right there is true friendship. "It is for her own good," he said.

Over our times as outlaws, each Merry Man had developed many personas around Nottingham castle to result in easy access. Michael used his Chamberlin character and was quickly directed to where Marian would be.

He found her in one of the castle gardens. In the past few weeks, she had been extremely absent from camp and he prepared himself to rave at her into supreme guilt.

All anger disembarked when he saw how lost she was. She may have been sitting still on that bench, but it was clear that her mind was in other places. Her eyes stared into nothing as the inner war raged. It took what seemed an age for her to even acknowledge his presence.

He sighed and sat beside her, uncomfortably as the bench was frozen with snow. It was clear that she no longer noticed the cold.

"Guy proposed here," she said, matter of factly. She paused, still refusing to move her eyes from whatever held them. "I do not love him," she said, also matter of factly. "He is nothing more than a convenience."

Michael could feel that happiness building inside him. "Well what are we waiting for? Lets leave this place. Come to Sherwood!"

She scoffed, gently but still enough for him to sink back down in his seat. "Robin and I are not meant to be. Have you seen how much we fight? That is assuming that he lives long enough to not leave me completely alone."

"Are you joking? Anyone who spends the most minimal time with you and Robin could see how you feel."

"Well call me selfish but I like my life. I have no wish to live like poverty in some forest for a future that has no certainty." She sighed as she admitted, "I'm not like you. Any of you. I preach that I too care for the poor of England but I could never give up what you all gave up. I am a truly horrible person."

"It is true, you are no saint. But horrible? Don't you think it!"

"Be that as it may, I like pretty things. I like having security. Guy offers that. He wants to leave Nottingham after the wedding. Have a fresh start. Go somewhere new and start a family."

Hands in fist, Michael now refused to look at her. "And you intend to go?"

Finally she looked at him. "I think I do."

He shook his head, desperately searching for anything to say. Finally he stood up and stormed away. It was amazing how he told her their friendship was over without words. I hope that one day she realizes that more people were in this problem than she considered. So many men around camp had grown to call her a friend and we would ever see her again.

Robin was different. He had gone through many stages over the course of these months as he watched his love prepare to marry another. Anger and sadness had passed. It seemed that he had finally settled on an eerie sense of acceptance where he performed his normal tasks with no life.

The spark had finally been put out.


	24. A new turn for Love

Chapter Twenty Four

29th November 1190

On a slightly lighter note, it seemed that fate had taken slight pity on the Merry Men in the area of love.

There could be no people more deserving.

Even our most stable couple, that of John and Amelia seemed to be taking strain due to the torn loyalties. Amelia always doubted Marina's decisions but always defended her against negative comments. John was the opposite as he was completely loyal to Robin.

It seemed that we were doomed to grow old together.

The thought terrified me.

I feel slightly obligated to remind you reader that there were more Merry Men about Sherwood than I mention regularly. In all honesty, I have neglected them. But when your best friend is going through such struggles, you do tend to overlook the buffoons that you are forced to live with.

The trouble is that they make little progression. They remain as dimwitted as ever. You may find this hard to believe. If you are reading this shortly after I write, you may be influenced by the mighty legends that tell of their great deeds.

Anyone who tells these tales never had to share a camp with these so called gentlemen.

But what is there to tell? Will, Roger and Luke are their normal grumpy selves. If anything, their moods have worsened as they reflect the events that occur around them. Much and Benny complain with every ounce of their being. I am constantly surpassing everyone in every aspect of perfection. Matthew is alright I suppose, but he can only look after everyone to a certain extent.

Thomas is the only one of us to do anything of value recently and I find it to be my obligation to report what I spied. It would also be nice to write some good things that have occurred through Sherwood.

Despite it being completely obvious, we had never realised that he had been in love with Martha. To be fair, Thomas did not learn this himself for a very long time.

Everyone had cheered him as he left for the Tavern that night of the York affair.

What they didn't know, was that he was going out to win the woman of his dreams.

"Martha" he yelled again "do what you do best and bring me some ale."

She did but not in the same way as before. "We are not doing that anymore," she informed him. "Pay up."

Reluctantly he handed over half of his winnings. "I didn't do it for the money anyway. I did it for the pride of winning."

"So give me my cut."

He did love the pride of winning but in all honesty, he could have used that money. Ale did not come cheap.

"Did you see Michael's face? It was brilliant. He has learnt the hard way to not sabotage me ever again."

"I did," she laughed. So they toasted their winning and laughed about it for a while. But something was still bothering Thomas. The way she kissed him could not have been false. There was still the suspicion he had that she liked him and now the knowledge that he liked her back.

Earlier that night, he asked Robin about it. It didn't start well as he was trying to judge whether it would insensitive.

"Ok" he began "Stop me if I say one insensitive word. Seriously, stop me at any point. I know this is kind of an upsetting topic for you and-"

Even Thomas could see he was rambling but he couldn't stop and carried on like this for quite a while until Robin saw fit to stop him. "What are you trying to ask exactly?"

"Now that things are, as they are, do you regret telling Marian how you felt all those years? After all, you could have remained friends all this time and not gone through all this trouble. Trouble being the most understated term. Now that it ended badly and you both hate each other, do you wish you had done nothing?"

He considered and it was clear he didn't have an answer.

"That's what I thought," Thomas said as he swore to never talk to Martha about feelings ever.

"Well every situation is different," he told me. "Isn't it better off knowing?"

"Not if it's bad. Then I definitely have no wish to know."

"Just do what you think is right mate."

"If only I knew what that was."

Robin paused but turned back to Thomas. "And just so you know, I wouldn't give up anything for the few months Marian and I did have."

"Have you got any advice?"

"No time will feel right. You will kid yourself into thinking that you need to wait for the right time. There isn't one, it's going to come out of nowhere when ever you do it. And the pause that will follow your words will be the longest of your life."

"So what are you going to do?" I asked as he had been eavesdropping the whole time.

"I'm never telling her," Thomas decided.

"Thought so," I agreed. "She would reject you."

He scoffed. The sad thing is, that this said scoff was in all sincerity. He actually considered himself a catch.

Great enjoyment came from killing his dreams. "Thomas, you are one of the older members of the gang. Admittedly, you and Martha are quite close in ago but she chooses to explore her youth. Meanwhile on the opposite end, you moan about aching bones and act confused when you gain a new wrinkle on your face. The simple answer my friend is the amount you drink. The least you could do is at least wash your hair after one of your so called 'sick mornings.' No one wants to see what remains in your hair after a night supposedly 'well spent.' Martha sees all of this and you think this appeals to her? Dare I suggest you wash your clothes once in a while. I say this with love mate; you are a washed up mess."

"Funny. I struggle to find the love in that," he said but he only punched me half-heartedly, secretly smiling. All Merry Men loved to be cruel to each other and we had learnt to take most things

But something was still different in Thomas. It seemed that he was barley listening to me. His mind was far off. Something gave me the impression that he may actually be brave and confront his would be love.

So naturally I followed along. At a distance, he deserved privacy. But only a little.

The tavern was as it always was. Completely loud, boisterous and overwhelming. The happiness that boomed from it practically knocked me over upon entry.

Finally, it a little bit of understanding about Thomas occurred. He may have loved to drink but he clearly ventured to the tavern for different reasons. In there, no one was drastically poor. No one was miserable. People could escape for one night.

I myself considered visiting on future occasions. Then the smell overcame me and I came to my senses.

Thomas seemed completely used to the chaos and easily maneuvered through the throngs to reach the bar.

"Martha" he began. But when she turned to face him he forgot what he was saying. He chickened out. But he started again. "I like you" he finally said "a lot. More than a customer should like his bartender and I was wondering if you like me to."

Robin was right. The pause was excruciating.

"Thomas" she began and he knew he had lost. "There's already someone in my life."

"Is he handsomer than me?" he asked pathetically.

"I think so," she said. Why was she smiling?

"He is my son," she explained.

Thomas paused. "That is disgusting. Incest is a crime."

Now she was really laughing. She couldn't stop and despite himself Thomas joined in. 'I'm just too darn funny' he thought to himself.

"Well anyway" she finally said as she wiped a tear from her eye. "I do like you. More than a bartender should like her customer. But he is the most important thing in my life and I couldn't do anything to hurt him. All my spare time goes to him and I couldn't get caught being with you. I'm all he has."

"Wow. I just made a fool out of myself. Let's agree to never discuss this again because this is the only tavern for ages and I need my ale."

Thomas hunted desperately for something to take attention away from his failure.

He regretted wishing this almost instantly.

It was Gisbourne surrounded men that Thomas and I could only assume were friends due to the lack of guard uniforms implying that they weren't being paid to accompany him. We quickly raised our hoods but thankfully he didn't pay any attention to us.

"Drinks are on me boys," he yelled to them.

"What's the occasion gentleman?" Martha asked as she gave them a flagon.

The men were cheering so loud that we struggled to hear his reply. "I'm getting married on Sunday. We moved it forward."

"I must learn to stop spending my nights here," Thomas whispered to Martha. "I hear all the bad news and am forced to repeat it. Remember when I had to tell John that his wife had been captured. Do you remember his reaction?"

"We swore never to talk about that again," she said angrily. "It still scares me."

Thomas hated to break this to her. "Well picture that at least ten times worse."

He looked at Gisbourne's smug face. "Make it twenty."


	25. Wedding Bells

I suppose that now is as a good a time as any to record what happened that fateful day of the wedding.

A few days ago, Marian had arranged to come to the camp when she had known that Robin would not be there. The constant avoidance of confrontation grew frustrating as everyone seemed to be doing it.

None the less we all waited for her news. Roger had been all too happy to distract Robin as he was one of the main folk who were sick of the conflict. The major difference was that while we were sick of it due to the damage it caused. He was sick of it due to the headaches they seemed to give him.

Marian looked rather frazzled but this could be expected of someone who was to be wed in three days time. She looked extremely nervous as she admitted "Guy and I are leaving Nottingham." She spoke louder after this, to be heard over every ones angered mumblings. "We have decided that it would be best if we move to Derby soon after the wedding. The Prince has given us some land there where Guy can be a Lord. Guy thinks-"

"This is the first we've heard of Gisbourne thinking," I said angrily. "And anything he is saying is a lie. We all know the real reason he wants to leave."

"There are more opportunities for us in Derby," she tried to say but this time Michael interrupted.

"Opportunities for you not to be stolen away," he muttered it but Marian still heard and stopped what she was saying.

"I don't need to hear this," Marian said, obviously to tired to continue fighting. "Look, the other reason I came was to give you a final invitation to come to the wedding."

Everyone looked uncomfortable. I tried to put on my stubborn face.

"This isn't just a wedding invitation," she continued "it is more of an invitation to the rest of my life. I'm not an idiot and I know the ones who don't come will be the ones who will be angry at me forever."

"Why does it matter?" Lilly said, "you're leaving."

"And I don't want to leave on bad terms. I don't want to think back on England and remember that the people I care about think of me as this horrible person."

I looked up "well then tell us why you are marrying Gisbourne."

She looked confused. "Because I love him."

I sighed and changed my tone to sound like I was talking to a child. "No, you love Robin. We have seen this from when you thought he died and the York incident. So why do you pretend like they never happened?"

"Because I can never be with Robin!" she said, rather loudly. It made most of us jump. "Do you really expect me to come live in the forest? And what would I do then? Become an outlaw? And for how long? How long until Robin and I had another fight? Because look at our track record, we haven't been doing so well in that area lately. Or worse, how long until he died? How long until I lose him and am left with nothing? Nothing, that I gave up everything for. I don't want that. A life of guessing. Believe it not, I do love Guy. Maybe not as much as Robin. And maybe that will never change. But I can see what will happen with Guy. He will be good to me. I can live a good life."

I wanted to stop her. The moment I saw Robin return mid-speech, I wanted to stop her.

Robin's face was unreadable. As was hers when she realised his presence.

She didn't say another word but quickly left.

Roger earned plenty of pain for being unable to do one simple task.

And then the day of the wedding arrived.

No one knew what to do.

Rose and Lilly were going. Michael, Much and Luke were at war with themselves as they tried to decide if they were going to go.

I knew I would be sick if I went. Everyone just sat quietly waiting for Robin to get up and tell us our next move. Most were hoping that he decided we had to kill Gisbourne.

But there was clearly no fight left in him.

"So is there a plan?" Much as hopefully.

Robin simply slumped down next to me, saying "why would there be a plan?"

"I'll be right back" Much said as he stormed out without saying another word. He knew he had to tell Marian exactly what he thought. It was time for her to listen.

He didn't think of how stupid this was until he reached Nottingham but he felt too tired to return.

It turns out it's very difficult to sneak into a bride's room on her wedding day. People chaotically ran at great speed around every spare bit of space as last minute questions had to answered and preparations had to be undergone. Clearly, there would be no break to this where Marian would be alone. Much grew tired of waiting for his chance.

He stormed through the door and demanded "get rid of everyone."

Everyone gasped at the sight of an outlaw and anxiously waited Marian's command.

"Would you excuse us for a moment?" she asked everyone and gave Much a look that said _what are you doing here? No one wants you here. Leave now._

He had no intention of obliging.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

She was confused. "What you said. I just got them all to leave."

"You know what I mean."

Much's tone scared her. And he was proud. He was sick of being the wimp that everyone made fun of. If he was ever going to leave that image behind then now was the time to do it.

"Much I'm really busy," she said in a soothing voice, trying to calm him down. It wasn't working.

"You don't love him," he told her "so I ask again. What are you doing?"

"Marrying a man I love."

"Stop lying!" he was yelling now. He didn't care. She tried to quieten him down but he was getting hysterical.

"I'm sorry, am I being too loud? Do you want me stop yelling. Well I can't do that right now because I'm upset. I am about to watch you make the biggest mistake of your life and ruin both yours and Robin's chances at happiness. I've have silently witnessed everything that has gone down this past year since you returned. I was there when he first found out you were back and that you wanted to see him. How excited he was. Well, excited and scared and who can blame him? You are a rather terrifying person when you wish to be. I wasn't there for when you officially re-met but I was there afterwards. I saw how you were trying to hide how happy you were to see. Then I witnessed the games you played for the next few months. How you kept on pretending to hate him and he kept trying to win you back. I saw how you secretly didn't mind his efforts. I was there when he found out you were engaged. That was one of the days I wished I hadn't been there. One thing I noticed was how your betrothed had nearly been killed but you weren't upset about that. You were angry that Robin had dared cross you. And than I was there for the worst of it, when we all thought Robin died. It broke my heart that night, how defeated you were. And I have witnessed these past few months when you have doubted your decision but won't change them because of your own stupid pride. I hope your pride makes you happy."

With that he turned and stormed out. He didn't worry about the patrolling guards. He cared about how dramatic it looked. In his own opinion, he pulled it off amazingly.

The speech seemed rather pointless as Much still found himself going to the Church. "I thought you were too good to attend such a cursed union," I said as he saw me.

"I came with the intention of burning down the church but than I remembered about my immortal soul and changed my mind"

I know want you're thinking and yes, I am rather ashamed at my presence there. But there was still that small part of me that prayed that this was all a crazy nightmare and I had to see how the whole thing played out.

It was a very big wedding. People gathered around the entrance to catch a glimpse of how beautiful Marian would be looking in some elaborate dress. Crowds practically filled the square and the sound and excitement reflected this.

Much glared at each and every one of them. "You think this is a good thing?' he yelled to a group of them. "This wedding is a sham!" he yelled to another.

I pulled him inside "stop terrifying all of the children."

"They are buying into it" he explained "they are making the day good."

I had no response again. We were about to take our seats when we saw him. Robin was hiding in the foyer. We quickly rushed over. "You're not going to cause a scene are you?" I asked anxiously.

"Because if you are count me in" Much told him eagerly.

The cheers outside could only mean one thing.

She was here.

She did look beautiful. None of had any doubt she would. She didn't show any emotion when she saw Robin but simply excused herself from everyone fussing around her and came to talk to him.

"Let her have it big guy" Much whispered to him as I yanked him away.

"What are you doing we need to hear this" he whispered angrily.

"They need their privacy" I told him "and we can eavesdrop from over here."

I was ready for all the anger.

"Are you happy?" he simply asked her.

"Where is the anger?" Much whispered.

"Tell me you love him and want to spend the rest of your life with him."

She took a deep breath.

"Tell him it's a lie" Much whispered. I elbowed me.

"I love him Robin and want to spend the rest of my life with him."

He stepped aside to let her pass.

"What!" Much yelled. I elbowed me so hard that he couldn't feel his ribs for the rest of the day. He was still yelping in pain as we emerged from our hiding place.

Robin surprisingly looked calm. "We're going to go sit down," I sympathetically told him. "Do you want to come?"

"I think this is one wedding I shouldn't attend" was his response.

He took one last lingering gaze at the woman he loved and simply shrugged. "Fate works in interesting ways."

"Fate is a bastard," Much muttered.

The church was packed full of people but luckily we still found seats. Nobility was obviously at the front but it was nice to see so many Saxons had been allowed to attend. I think this is a good time to point out that, though I hated her at that moment, Marian was still a good person. She has said many times that she enjoys her comfortable life and this may have caused her to come off as a horrible person. Well she isn't. She really does care for the poor just as much as us. Nottingham church was not overly large but it was still crammed full of poor people who called Marian a friend. These were often people that she had helped as she constantly travelled around Nottingham lending a hand or money to anyone in need. Thankfully, she had avoided the royal quality of stepping on all those below her. Prince John and Annie were prime examples of people who had this quality and loved every aspect of it. So I hope that no one had the image of her being a horrible person. She simply made a horrible decision.

Meanwhile, I was struggling to find anyone who was here to support Gisbourne.

I could see Robin couldn't tear himself and was hovering at the back.

Still hoping I guess.

Everyone was getting in position. I was struck by a rather odd sight. Matthew, of all people, casually moved so that he was close behind Marian. To any outsider, it just appeared that he was standing where he could find room. I could see that he was strategically placed. He pretended to be engrossed in a nearby wall hanging but sneakily whispered to Marian, "ask Gisbourne about Simon."

She was terribly confused. "You want me to ask him about his dead best friend on our wedding day? Are you mad?"

Matthew shrugged and walked away.

The ceremony began and Much groaned. "I hate weddings on normal occasions," he said. Everyone around turned and shushed him. And the boredom began for both of us, though I tried not to show it. Much quickly slumped down in his seat and tried making funny faces to amuse himself. At the slightest hint of noise he was shushed but this generally made him grow louder.

I began to look around trying to find a legitimate friend of Gisbourne. To my surprise I knew most of the guests. Most were friends of Robin's. I don't believe that Marian had met quite a few of them. So was it possible they were here in support of neither the bride nor the groom? Were they here in support of Robin?

Actually I think they were just here hoping for a show. I whispered my theory to Much who agreed.

"You know what" Much decided. "These people want a show. I think we should give it to them."

I gave him a look of despair mixed with 'I sure hope you're not going to do anything' look mixed with a little bit of something else. I suspect a hint of daring.

He was happy to oblige.

His cue finally came. The bishop finally said, "is there anyone who objects to this union?"

"I do!" Much yelled as he leapt from his seat. I buried my face in my hands in shame and pretended that I didn't know him. I could see Marian was groaning inwardly and Gisbourne looked ready to attack him. The congregation on the other hand had all perked up, hoping for anything to liven up the ceremony.

"On what grounds?" the minister continued.

He had nothing to say. "Um…well. It's a Sunday!"

I sunk even further into my seat.

Everyone was looking at him in confusion and he had to continue. "It's a commonly known fact that if a couple marries on a Sunday they will be doomed forever to a life of misery," he made up as he went. "I suppose the marriage can't go ahead."

There was silence.

To his relief another voice came in. On the other side of the church Michael jumped up. "It's also never a good idea for two people with golden hair to wed. It normally means one of them will die young."

I had known Marian her whole life and had learnt to be able to read her instantly. There was no fury on her face, despite this being what everyone else saw. I could see as clear as da that she was trying to hold in laughter.

The next to jump up was Amelia. "It is too sunny for a wedding"

John beside her quickly joined her. "Sunlight is not a good omen."

Benny was also up yelling "This isn't the kind of church that people should be married in. The lighting is all wrong."

Finally people started to get the message and people all around the church began jumping up and yelling peculiar reasons why the wedding could not proceed.

"He is wearing an ugly colour."

"They have different coloured eyes."

"My seat is too uncomfortable."

The voices were deafening. Much was rather proud of himself.

"Enough!" Prince John roared. "The next person to yell some stupid complaint will be…" He was too angry to think of how to finish his sentence.

"Beheaded" the Sheriff offered. I could see that he too was stifling laughter. I suspected he was the one whose objection was the uncomfort of his seat.

"Exactly!" Prince John yelled and glared at the crowd, daring anyone to move.

Much was the first to sit back down. Everyone else in the church followed.

I raised an eyebrow at his supposed bravery. Michael, who was sitting in front of us, sneakily reached back and gave Much a thumbs up.

Everyone was now on the edge of their seats. It was time for the vows. As I said before, I knew my cousin and I could tell that something was bothering her.

She coughed softly and polity asked the bishop to wait a moment.

Everyone in the church gasped. "Whoa what did I miss?" Much asked as he quickly snapped out of my boredom.

"Sorry everyone," she said, addressing the crowd. "I just need to speak to my betrothed for a very brief moment. Then we shall continue."

So many emotions were crammed into that room.

Gisbourne clearly did not favour this pause.

"What is it?" he mumbled

"It's probably nothing but I was just thinking about Simon."

Gisbourne had not expected this and relaxed. He was still confused however as he asked, "and who is Simon."

This was not the answer Marian wanted to hear. I could see Matthew sitting proudly in his seat but still struggled to see what he had learnt that I had not.

"Simon," Marian said again after a pause. "You're best friend. The one who died saving you the day you returned to England."

Gisbourne's face was difficult to read. I detected a lot of confusion and a bit of self-anger as he realised his mistake.

"Why would you bring him up now? I wasn't aware that he was such a romantic topic for you?"

Marian sighed, seeming relieved at his memory returning. "I just feel like he is here with you. After all, he was your best friend since you were ten. And you said that you met him in this very church."

"Yes yes," Gisbourne said, clearly anxious to continue with the wedding. "It sadness me to think of him so can we just move along?"

Marian's look of relief was long gone. "No we can't," she said gently. "Originally you told me that you met Simon when you were fifteen in an archery contest. Why has this changed?"

Everyone held in gasps as they pretended to know what was going on. It was at his point that I began to understand and had never been more shocked in my life.

Gisbourne had no idea with how to respond and remained silent. Anger was clearly brewing in his face.

"Did you even know Simon before the day he died?" Marian asked, slowly getting louder and angrier, "or is it true that he was paid to show you in a more sympathetic light? Did he know he was going to die? Or did you not see fit to warn about this part of the plan? It was no accident that you were at the Church were you? Tell me the truth!"

"What difference does any of this make?" he said, barley containing his anger. "Fine! I will admit, Simon was paid to be there. He was sick and knew that he was dying away. We agreed to help finance his family. But everything after that was true. I meant every word about loving you!"

"We?"

All eyes were on Prince John as he shook his head at Gisbourne. Ultimate fury was shown as the blame was shared.

He stood up and there was complete silence around the room. "How stupid do you think I am?" he said calmly to Marian who suddenly seemed worried. "Do you really think I knew nothing about you and Hood? I brought you back to England for one purpose only. I overestimated you. I thought that you would destroy him. But I saw you slowly hate him less and less each day. So I brought in the next plan."

I thought back to that day I had been locked in the wardrobe of Prince John's study. That conversation suddenly made all the more sense.

Marian looked to Gisbourne with pure disgust. "And you agreed to this?"

He was clearly growing desperate as he saw her slipping away. He grabbed her wrist and pleaded. "Yes but only because I already loved you. Please? Please can we just continue?"

She jerked her arm back, forcing him to let her go in response.

"Is it inappropriate to cheer?" Much whispered. I shushed him but was considering it myself.

The look of Gisbourne's face told me it was. He really did love her. Too bad for him that Robin is so much better than he is.

"I'm taking the credit for this" Much told me.

Gisbourne looked into nothingness and his tone suddenly changed.

He was dangerous.

"Is this really because of what I did? Or is that just an excuse to go back to him?"

I turned to look at Robin and give him a shared look of triumph but when I turn, he was no longer there.

"Guards!" Gisbourne was yelling and Robin had been caught.

The next thing I knew, there was a sword by friends neck and a mad man at the hilt.

"Marian" Gisbourne said, not moving the sword from Robin's neck. "I seriously think you should reconsider." His tone was still the eerie one of a man who had just lost everything.

She looked horrified as she saw the man we had all seen from the start.

"Guy, you wouldn't" she said, horrified as she realised the choice he was giving her.

Everyone waited with baited breath.

"Try me!" he yelled, the harsh sound suddenly filling the church.

"It's alright Marian," Robin told her calmly. This only angered Gisbourne further as he lowered the sword, only for the sole purpose of punching Robin hard in the stomach.

"Shut up!" he roared.

"Just walk away Marian," Robin said. I knew that his words were completely genuine. He would much rather die than be the cause for Marian's misery. As it was, she trying to remain calm whilst inwardly being utterly beside herself. Meanwhile, Much noticed something everyone else was far too worried to see. Gisbourne had not yet raised his sword again. Robin could free himself, given the proper distraction.

"You know" Much said to me. "This wedding is getting boring."

Drawing his sword, he rose again.

"Gisbourne," I yelled as I also rose "you failed to think of one minor detail. Wedding crashers!"

The merry men grabbed their swords and leapt from their seats.

"This is the kind of wedding I enjoy" Much told everyone as we went into combat.

Robin easily freed himself from Gisbourne's grip and they were fighting. But it was different this time. Robin was losing.

Gisbourne's anger had made him strong. The more technical explanation of this was how he no longer had anything to lose. He no longer cared if he died. It is a rule of swordplay to observe your opponent so you can defend yourself. Gisbourne only thought to hurt Robin and continuously thrashed his sword about, not once attempting to defend himself. The problem was that Robin had no chance to attack back as he desperately dodged each wild swing.

Robin's sword was knocked from his hands and once again Gisbourne's sword was once again at Robin's throat.

I saw it happening but was not going to make it in time.

To my relief and surprise Marian had grabbed a sword and hit Gisbourne hard on the head with the hilt.

Tuck happily watched the ceremony shatter and muttered to the bystander next to him "this would never have happened if I had been allowed to initiate the service." He saw the bishop that Prince John had selected cowering behind the alter and decide that it was his time to shine.

Tuck walked to him slowly with his sword at the ready. "There's something you have to do for me," he told him

He did what was asked. His voice rang out loud over the church. "You may kiss the bride!"

Marian and Robin stopped fighting and turned to each other. Their kiss was victory and I cheered as loudly as I could.

"I told you" Much said to me. "Pay up."

I reluctantly handed over his prize money.

"When will you people learn," Much said. I am not as stupid as you think and am perfectly capable of crashing a wedding."

"Hopefully your skills wont be required that often," I said. "It should be smooth sailing from here."

Much snorted at my optimism.

Unfortunately he was right.


	26. Tomorrow They Die

Chapter Twenty Six

10th December 1190

Gisbourne had been angry before but nothing like this. As he wiped the blood from his mouth he looked up and saw the women he loved kissing the man he despised. On their wedding day.

Annie contemplated comforting him but was frankly too scared. It never occurred to me how she may have had feelings for him. Not intense love obviously. I do not think my sister to be capable of love. Yet, thinking back now, it was a strong possibility that she had been living vicariously through Marian. It would explain how passionate she was about their union. She had always been strange like that.

Her loyalty changed quickly after what Gisbourne did to us the next day.

I know only what happened in Locksley.

She told me the Nottingham events afterwards.

I tried to be grateful. But I was furious at her.

She knew what was coming.

If she had taken the small effort to warn us, his death could have been avoided.

But I am getting ahead of myself.

The church was in shambles. Outlaws were running loose, fighting the few guards that were there and basically making a complete mess. It was no longer about the guards, most of us just wanted to make a mess. Tuck was running around pulling out the remainder of his hair as he tried to save his precious church.

There were far bigger things going on.

"I love a good wedding" the Sheriff told Gisbourne as he offered him his hand. Gisbourne didn't take it. The Sheriff was the kind of man who would easily drop him when him was down. He was holding in laughter already.

"Don't give me that look Gisbourne, it was just a fantasy. Now it's over you can go back to doing what you're supposed to do. Being a common servant. Are you angry Gisbourne?" he asked me. "Good. Use that. Get him back."

The gang had run out by this point. The interior of the church had been destroyed. The peasants had joined in the chaos and everything was a hopeless mess. All in a good days work for the Merry Men.

"Gisbourne!" the sheriff yelled at him when he finally got back to the castle. "Prince John wants to see you."

"Does he blame me?" Gisbourne said, knowing the answer.

"Of course not" the Sheriff said with an evil smirk.

Annie tiptoed behind them, wanting to be the first to know Gisbourne's fate. There were many doors to Prince John's main chamber and we had long ago discovered the one close enough to allow for easy eavesdropping. The wood had slightly weakened and chipped away to leave a large enough gap. This allowed us to hear many important plans.

Despite how demeaning it made her feel, Annie sprawled on the ground to allow her closer to the said chip for full possible sound.

"How could you let this happen?" Prince John yelled at Gisbourne. "I brought you to England under the instruction that you could easily get her to marry you. All the time I heard about how close you were in France and how inseparable you were. People were always telling me how you were clearly in love. So I thought it would be simple for you to not lose her to a common outlaw. And what did you tell me when you first got to England?" He didn't give Gisbourne a chance to respond. "You told me that it wouldn't be a problem and that you already loved her. It was sickly sweet but look what you've done. You pushed her closer to Hood!"

He couldn't take it anymore. Gisbourne punched Prince John. It was hard too. Blood poured out of his nose. The Sheriff was once again holding laughter as he enjoyed his place on the side-lines.

People were beheaded for much less. Annie mumbled a silent prayer for his death to be quick and with minimal pain.

Prince John was confused at first. Amazed that someone would dare do that. He didn't sentence Gisbourne to death. He was too surprised.

"Why are you hitting me?" he finally said calmly. "It's Hood you want. I know he'll be in Locksley in a few days. It doesn't take a genius to see his schedule. Do something about it. I supply the funds and you supply the hatred. I think we can work together. "

Gisbourne couldn't believe it. His mind was racing with possibilities. He smiled. This act of smiling felt strange after the previous days events.

"I will."

"You want that land I promised you? The title? Bring me Hood's head." The simple image of this in Gisbourne's head brought a sick smile to his face.

"Now go I have other things to attend to"

He went out in a kind of daze and bumped into the sheriff who followed him eagerly.

Annie leapt from her position and raced around the corridors until she was safely behind a wall that allowed to hear this conversation also.

"So do you have a plan?" the Sheriff was asking.

"You'll have to wait like everyone else." Annie didn't like the way Gisbourne said this. It sounded like they were talking about some sort of game. A sick game that would result in death.

"You don't. Stick with me kid and I can teach you things. If you succeed you will not only get your revenge but will get the favour of Prince John."

Gisbourne and Annie were confused at the sudden helpful nature of the Sheriff. "That's exactly what you don't want," Gisbourne pointed out. "You love how pathetic my life is."

"Actually I just want Hood dead and together we can do that."

"I don't need anyone,"

The Sheriff snorted. "Is that why we had that display at the church this morning? Face it Gisbourne. You've lost. And if you want full revenge, you will listen to me."

Everyone paused at the sound of footsteps.

Gisbourne knew those footsteps.

Annie panicked as she recognised the distinct way her cousin walked.

Many people observing this would expect Gisbourne to flee. He took the opposite approach and stood his ground, glaring all the while. Annie could hear Marina's footsteps slow down as she saw her obstacles. This would have come with her quick brainstorming on possible escape routes. Then the sound changed as she rushed to pass him.

The Sheriff hated the idea of a wasted opportunity but let them have this moment.

She paused, wondering if she was expected to say something. Annie can only assume that she lost her nerve and raced away. Marian turned to the left and Annie thanked the Lord as her spying place was left unnoticed. She had no wish to be on the receiving end of that anger.

Marian seemed to be on the familiar route to Prince John's main chambers.

Annie raced back to her original hiding place. She was a lot slower this time. The running was an abnormality for her.

The tension in the room was almost painful. To say that Prince John was furious would be an understatement. For once, Marian knew to hold her tongue.

"You are a disgrace," he finally said. Marian showed no sign of fear but Annie knew her well enough to know that she was terrified. For one thing, she has never been silent for this long.

"Do you honestly have a plan for your life?" he asked her. She had no response. "I am not going to continue taking care of you for the rest of your life. I gave the chance to marry someone you wanted and you didn't go through with it. I could try an arranged marriage but I can only that you'll do the same thing. I could send you to a convent but then I'll feel sorry for the convent.

Robin was not mentioned once. Both women held their breaths.

"I'm sending you to that medical school in France" he told her. "You'll study there and then live on in France as a physician."

They were both shocked. She couldn't be silent any longer. "But what is my punishment? I left a man at the alter. Surely you're at least going to yell at me for publicly embarrassing you or something. Instead you reward me? What aren't you telling me?"

He ignored all of her questions. "You leave in three days time. I have already arranged for your things to be packed. Say your goodbyes."

Annie sat back on the floor. Far too much had happened that day and she needed a moment to calm herself.

Then the moment was over and she was back in action

Unfortunately she heard the clanking of footsteps. Two guards now patrolled the corridors of which the spying room was located.

Annie was trapped and they showed no sign of moving.

So it seemed that she would be spending the night in this room. I personally believe this to be karma and was happy to hear how slow the night dragged as the floor grew colder and harder.

But of course, Annie managed to sleep through a great portion of the next day. She was a lazy thing.

A normal person would have instantly leapt into action and have raced to warn someone about the upcoming plan.

Annie of course, took the time to clean herself up, bathe and demand countless servants to dress her and prepare her hair before she even thought of helping.

She then strode calmly to visit Marian. Annie hoped to interrupt her packing desperately as she yearned to follow the dream she had followed since she was about twelve.

Needless to say, she wasn't. She was packing, but it was only putting a few essentials in her satchel so that she could rush off to visit us. And when I say us, I mean Robin.

"Packing rather light aren't you? Annie said. "I would have thought that you would require slightly more than that to travel to France.

Marian paused. "I won't even ask how you know," she said with a smile. "You far too devious cousin."

Annie realised how long it had been since she had seen Marian smile like that. There was true happiness about her. Something told her that this happiness had nothing to do with France. "So why aren't you packing?"

Marian paused. "Don't start Annie."

"You best be going Marian. This is a great opportunity. There is no future here."

"There could be."

"What was it you were always saying about Robin. About the insecurity?"

"Well I shouldn't have said those things. I trust Robin. And I love him. Please try to understand."

Annie was quickly angry. "Have you forgotten that Prince John wasn't requesting that you leave. He was demanding it! He want's you away form Robin."

"We can work it out."

It was clear that Marian had made up her mind. Annie sighed and made her decision."

"Was there something else?" Marian asked as she pulled her satchel over her head. "I'm about to leave so make it quick."

"No. There was nothing else."

Marian smiled again and hugged Annie un-expectantly. "Sorry," she said after a quick laugh. "I'm just so happy. And really happy for once Annie. Please believe me."

Annie nodded slowly and Marian was already at the door. "It's for your own good love," she said softly.

I will never forgive her. Her master plan was for Robin to die so Marian would have nothing holding her back. I no longer call her sister.

She still wanted to know Gisbourne's plan. Not knowing things drove her to madness.

So she snuck by his quarters.

The sound put her instantly on edge. It was the sound of a sword being sharpened. She had the feeling that there would be blood on that sword very shortly.

The Sheriff was there too, happily mumbling to Gisbourne about how brilliant their plan was. He grew bored quickly as Gisbourne was obviously paying no attention. So he tested him. "Are you aware that Marian is leaving England?" The pause in the sharpening could only mean that the Sheriff now had Gisbourne's attention. "Well the Prince told her to leave. You never know. Hood may convince her to stay."

"It doesn't matter," Gisbourne. "Hood will be dead before he even learns of this."

He smiled an evil smile. "That's the kind of thing I like to hear."

"Tomorrow, they die."


	27. The Locksley Affair

Chapter Twenty-Seven

12th December 1190

"To Locksley!" Robin yelled and everyone cheered. After all, it had always been one the favourite places of the Merry Men. Save for Will, but that was no surprise. No sane man enjoys visiting the place where his Father was murdered.

Robin took him to the side to enquire if he was alright.

"Do you want to sit this one out?" he asked "it's only drop offs."

"I'll be fine," Will lied

Robin checked for eavesdroppers and whispered "I know what today is."

The memory of his father's murder came roaring back into Will's head.

Unknown to the rest of us, it had occurred two years ago today. Will still remembered it vividly. He dared not scream or cry out. The whips thrashed him as blood poured. His Father had never looked away from him. Will saw that face every time he let himself remember. He saw it every time he laid eyes on the Sheriff.

"I'll take the back areas," Will told him, snapping out of his daze. Robin gave him an understanding nod and went back to fetching weapons. Will tried his best to help but found that both his hands were shaking.

The gang merrily travelled on their way, tactfully ignoring Will.

Everyone was used to Will's silence in these times. Roger gave Will a look of understanding.

Will hated those sympathetic looks with a passion.

"All I'm saying" Much was rambling "is that I did the most perfect sword flip and the guards practically fainted. And you all missed it. I only ever do good things when you lot are not around."

Everyone scoffed. Benny was the first to jump in. "Much if you're going to tell huge lies you have to make them slightly more believable. Say, if you told us that you attempted a perfect sword flip and failed then we would all believe you. I mean, we've seen it enough."

"But then what would be telling the truth you idiot" Much informed him "so your whole point is wrong. You try to tell me how to lie and your advice is to tell the truth. And people call me dumb."

This didn't faze Benny. "You release in all that spiel, you admitted that you lied and it is normal for you to fail."

Much was at a loss for words and everyone cheered on Benny.

Everything was normal at the beginning. The people were just as friendly and welcoming as always. They all flocked around Robin; the majority of them were young, beautiful women. Once they could see Robin wasn't interested they gathered around Matthew who failed to notice this. He also failed to notice all the glares from the majority of the gang.

Everything was fine until Thomas came running towards us, yelling something inaudible.

He had been left behind to guard which is not normally a necessity.

We have learnt.

"They're putting up barricades! The Sheriff is closing us in!"

We bolted to the nearest exit to find it thoroughly blocked with no hope of escape. Countless guards were suddenly alert with their hands on their weapons. Even if we did manage to scale the wall there were archers waiting on the other side with smirks all over their pathetic faces.

"Go to the main square" was the only thing they would tell us.

This seemed preferable to death so we obliged.

The whole village seemed to have gathered there.

"What's going on?" Robin yelled to them.

One villager stepped forward. One of the only villagers who had the ability to read I assumed as he was holding a letter with the royal seal.

He shook as he read.

He spoke, but we had to hear it a few times before it finally sunk in.

"It says here that they're going to burn the village to the ground and massacre us all. Unless we give them your dead bodies by sundown."

The silence was excruciating.

Then everyone began talking at once.

Some, the ones I liked began to brainstorm alternate suggestions and saying how they could never do such a thing.

Others, the ones I didn't like began shouting plans on how to kill us.

The one with the letter told us "If they burn down the village you're dead anyway. This way we can save our families and homes."

I was moments away from punching him.

"It was rather clever of the Sheriff," Michael decided. "If he sent men in to kill us we would become martyrs and the people would surely revolt. They would also protect us. This way they have to accept our deaths due to how they're supposed to bring them about."

"It wasn't the Sheriff who signed this" the man continued "it says Guy of Gisbourne."

The gang was silent as it sunk in.

That bastard.

We had perfect plans in the past.

The plan to get out of this would be have to be beyond that.

And we needed it fast.

The villagers were getting panicked and some were drawing weapons.

"Uh" Much said "May I suggest we run?"

"Run where?" Michael said, trying not to get hysterical "We could run in pointless circles around town and hope they get tired first. Are you forgetting we're blocked in?"

"Damn it!" Robin yelled. "We have done nothing but help you for the past two years and this is how you repay us!"

"It's you or you and us," the man said as he led the pack.

"Run" I yelled and we scattered.

I followed John. His size would scare off most of the villagers and Thomas and Will followed me. We ran until we finally seemed to lose the group following us and we leapt down a small alley.

"I think we lost them," Thomas panted.

A door opened and our faces broke out in relief. "Martha," they exclaimed as she quickly ushered us inside.

"Please tell me you have a plan," she said.

"We have a plan" Thomas replied.

Her face broke out in happiness.

"That was a lie," he quickly informed her. She broke out in a scowl. "I was just doing what you said" he tried to explain as she looked to the rest of us for a plan.

We had nothing.

The door burst open and a man ran in. He was yelling for Martha but stopped abruptly when he saw us. "Martha" he said in a quieter but harsher tone "may I speak to you in the next room?"

"Who is that? Is he trying to steal her from me?"

"Not the time Thomas," I told him but there was no chance of him being silent.

"For goodness sake!" John told him "that man could run in here and stab us at any second. I say we run."

"To where?" I cut in. "At least here we are only in danger from one angry villager. Out there, there is no hope."

We tried to hide the fact that there was no hope anyway but the little voice of logic was refusing to be silent.

We eavesdropped as much as we could but we couldn't make out what they were saying. Then we did hear something.

A loud slap.

They finally emerged and as we all suspected, Martha's cheek was quickly turning red.

"You can't stay here," she told us, clearly holding back tears.

"Enough of this" the man said, reaching for his sword. "

Rowan!" Martha yelled as she tried to stop him but something in his eyes told us he wasn't going to stop.

The sound of a door opening stopped everyone. We didn't see the angry mob we expected. There was a little boy who must have been about seven years old. His bright red hair showed that he had to be Martha's son.

"Whoa" was his response to seeing us. He walked up to John. "You're huge" he exclaimed in delight. "Are you little John?"

John nodded and even gave the boy a small smile, something that seemed so out of place in this setting.

"Do you really beat up hundreds of guards with your stick?"

"It's called a quarter staff," John told him.

The boy began to reply but Rowan stopped him. "Don't talk to them Oliver. They're bad people"

"No they're not" was the boy's response. "They work for Robin Hood. You know, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor." And he gave Rowan the kind of look we always give Much when he says something stupid.

"Oliver" Martha told him as she led him away "Go and play in the next room."

"But I don't want to" he tried to say but she pushed him in.

Rowan looked at us for a long time. "Go" he finally said. "I don't want you in this house."

Thomas hesitated but we pulled him out. "That man is a few steps away from slitting our throats" John whispered as we rushed out.

The streets were deserted.

It wasn't a good kind of deserted.

"Oi!" came a loud whisper. I didn't want help from another villager who would turn on us. To our relief it was Benny, beckoning us into a nearby house.

Our hands went to our weapons when someone we didn't know greeted us at the door.

"Calm down" Benny told us. "This is Julia. We have known each other since we were kids."

We weren't convinced. "Sorry" John tried to explain. "We just had a bad run in with Martha and her husband so we don't really know who to trust."

"How do you know that he was her husband?" Thomas asked.

John began itching his head. This is what he did when he was trying to think of a lie. "Just a guess, I guess" was his brilliant reply.

"Not the time" Benny had to remind him.

Julia coughed so we remembered her presence. "You can all rest here until this is sorted out."

That brought us back to the problem. We needed a plan and fast.

"Do you know what happened to the others?" Will asked Benny

He shook his head. "I lost them at the square. Then Julia offered to hide me." With that he gave her a little smile to show his appreciation. I'm pretty unknowledgeable in these areas but I could tell there was something going on there.

"I'll go get you some food or something," she said as she hurried out of the room.

Thomas went instantly back to questioning John about Martha.

I ignored this and corned down Benny.

"Fine tell me," I told him.

"Tell you what?"

"The story. Between you and Julia. I know you're dying to tell it."

"There is nothing to tell," he said with one of those looks that showed that there was obviously more to tell. "Well, we were kids together. She was my best friend. We were both raised in the same orphanage. She is one of the good ones. We can trust her."

"You have the look," I told him. "The look that Robin has around Marian. The look that John has around Amelia. The look the sheriff has around money."

He scoffed but didn't deny it.

Julia came back with soup but something wasn't right about it.

Why would she have soup in the middle of day?

"Uh I think you should wait," I said but it was too late. John who had drunk at great speed began to choke quickly followed by the other three. Seeing that I hadn't fallen for her trick she quickly lunged for me with a dagger in her hand. She caught me by surprise and managed to knock me to the ground. She wasn't quick enough with the knife though and I managed to grab her arm before she plunged it into my chest. Now she had used the element of surprise she didn't have much in her favour. I was stronger by far. The problem was that I didn't want to kill her. If I did I could easily plunge the dagger back into her. It was a lot harder to get it out of her hand where as all she had to do was push forward and I was dead.

Suddenly she stopped with a loud gasp. Blood came spattering out her mouth and I finally saw the sword emerging out of her stomach. She released her grip on me and fell to the floor.

I saw Benny, holding a bloody sword.

He slowly sank beside her. She was crying, I was unsure whether this was out of pain or regret.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "I love you Ben." With that, she was still.

Benny was still too. He looked at his shaking hands. He looked at how they were covered in her blood. I put my hand on his shoulder in a pathetic attempt to comfort him. "She didn't poison us," he told me softly "It's just meant to weaken people. She was going to kill us as we slept."

"You did what you had to do," I told him.

He didn't say anymore but went to get some water to try and wake up the others.

I covered her body. Not out of respect for her. I didn't want Benny to be forced to see her.

It was getting close to sundown.

"We need to know what is going on," John said. "Sitting here is useless."

We all agreed and went out into the street.

Things had changed. We no longer cared.

After quickly being caught we found ourselves in the square.

We still didn't care. At least we were able to see the rest of the gang.

It seemed that we were the last to be captured. Everyone else had already been found and tied up in the centre of the village.

None of us said anything. None of us knew what to say.

The very people we had been protecting had turned on us.

The villagers were in heated discussion over their next move.

Robin was clearly sick of waiting.

"Well come on then!" he yelled.

"Robin what are you doing" Matthew murmured but Robin wasn't listening.

"Well who's going to do it?" he yelled again. "How about you Walter? I mean, we did save all your children from starving but feel free. Or how about you Francis? When you stab me, be sure to think of the time we helped you rebuild your house when it collapsed that winter. Who is man enough to kill the men who have done nothing but save you?"

They all looked around. No one stepped forward.

"This is ridiculous" the first man from this morning walked up to us.

"Do it Harold" Robin told him. Harold walked forward, trying to appear confident but it was clear he was shaking. He paused, trying to think of the appropriate way to kill Robin. He held the sword in a shaky hand. Sweat was ripping down his forehead.

Finally, he threw the sword away.

"They won't burn down the village," Robin told them. "They need your taxes and other town will revolt. Even if they try, we will be prepared."

Harold suddenly turned and lunged with his sword. We all gasped but thankfully Robin's bindings fell to the ground.

"You had better be right," he told him.

...

The plan seemed to be failing.

This was what the Sheriff had wanted.

He smirked as he turned back to Prince John. "With respect my Lord, this is what happens when you trust a big job to fools."

Prince John wasn't surprised at all. "I have grown tired of angering at the failure of that man. Kill as many as you can in Locksley. Then take of Gisbourne. By any means that you see fit."

The Sheriff had to hold back the urge to skip from the room. He took great effort to take silent steps so he would not warn obvious eavesdroppers.

This proved fruitful as Marian practically leapt back form the door. This amused me as his smirk grew. "He is dead you know."

He didn't think it would be possible to become more amused but her renewed face of terror made him chuckle. "Well alright he isn't dead yet as far as I know. But it wont be long now. So what is this I hear about you attempting to break into Locksley earlier today? I am no idiot. They knew to expect you and turn you away instantly. There is nothing you can do. Hood and his men shall die."

"How can you live with yourself?" she said in disgust. "How can you be so evil?"

"It's just fun I guess. Want some advice. Far be it from me to help the likes of you but I suggest you get on the boat to France as fast as the wind will take you. Or do you enjoy being alone with no future?"

Then he wandered up to Annie who passed him a small purse. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said happily taking his payment.

"You're cheating me, you know that?. All I asked you to do was encourage her to go to France. Surely you should give at least half of that money yet."

He shook his head happily and wandered off again.

...

This time it was to Locksley, to watch the plan continue.

Sundown came.

Darkness came fast yet nothing happened.

We all prayed that they had been bluffing.

Suddenly there was light as fire engulfed the village. Guards came pouring out of all the entrances and came straight for us. Robin yelled orders to the villagers with all the water that they had prepared earlier and turned to the guards. This fighting was different to what we had previously faced.

These were trained men who wanted to kill us.

"Hey Robin" I yelled to him. Robin grunted in acknowledgment.

"Do you remember at the start of this year when you said you wanted a real fight? How do you feel now?"

Robin laughed at the memory and raised his sword.

The enemy were blessed with amazing skill and they outnumbered us. They easily tripled us in numbers.

Villagers forgot the fire in the face of fear and scattered in panic in a desperate attempt to flee. The fire flashed on the reflection of the swords.

It wasn't long before people were on the ground.

A sharp whistle rang out and the man stopped fighting but held us all at sword point. Gisbourne rode in and went straight for Robin.

"You have hit a new low Gisbourne."

"You are getting what you deserve."

With that Gisbourne drew his sword and said "goodbye Hood."

"No!" Matthew yelled and ran in front of Robin.

The sword made impact and Matthew fell to the ground.

Luke's yells broke the silence as he watched his brother fall.

Gisbourne merely kicked Matthew to the side and went in for Robin again.

A rock came flying out of no where giving Robin the opportunity to knock the sword out of Gisbourne's hand.

Then they came. It seemed all of Locksley was there; all helping us fight the men.

They may have skill, but we had numbers.

There was clearly no hope for the men and they all ran back to their horses and fled, Gisbourne leading the group.

Luke was already at Matthew's side but he was too late. Matthew had died before he hit the ground.

I had never seen Luke cry. Everyone around stopped and was silent. They all bowed their heads and watched as Luke clung to his brother's lifeless body.


	28. Double Revenge

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The following extract is taken from the Sheriffs personal journal. This was stolen much later but found that it clarified many an event for us.

12th December 1190

Well the Locksley affair went just as expected. Terribly.

Gisbourne and the mercenaries came stumbling back into the courtyard with the same ashamed look on each of their pathetic faces, delightful bruises already forming as the blood slowly dried.

I couldn't wait. I had been looking forward to this day.

Still, I faked friendliness as I asked Gisbourne how the day had treated him, knowing the answer perfectly well.

He had failed miserably.

He simply glared at me, as if the whole event were my fault.

"Now now Gisbourne," I told him, "let us put all blame where it is due. There is only one fool here."

He had nothing to say. Words seemed to have left him.

"So how many Merry Men are dead?"

He mumbled, "many a Hood supporter was killed. Whether it be from the mercenaries, the fire or other unknown causes."

"That is not what I asked Gisbourne. I asked how many proper outlaws are dead from one of the easiest killing situations of the decade."

He paused. "One," was the final answer.

I paused also, but that was only to pretend to hold my laughter about how truly pathetic this man really was. Raising an eyebrow, he showed no emotion to this. I hate when people do that. I hate when they no longer care.

So I stopped the laughter abruptly. "I am afraid Gisbourne that Prince John will not find this situation as hilarious as I. In fact, I know that he does not."

There was still no emotion. "So you have been sent to kill me Sheriff?"

"It is good to know that you finally stopped under estimating me Gisbourne."

Finally, the mercenaries took their cue and snapped into action. In perfect unison, they whipped their swords from their scabbards and in one swift motion had them pointed at Gisbourne, who in turn, looked calmly at each man. There was no escape as he was utterly outnumbered. I loved it.

"Any last words Gisbourne? Anything about how unfair your life is? How you were given the short end of the stick? Let us have it."

"I have nothing to say. Except, I think that is it time that you stop underestimating me Sheriff."

And with that he swiftly pulled something from his belt and threw it upward. Smoke poured forth which created agonising burning. Each mercenary dropped their weapons in surprise to nurse their eyes, some of which were bleeding.

When the smoke began to clear, Gisbourne was gone.

"After him fools!" I yelled to the idiots who surrounded me. The few who had been furthest from the explosion recovered fast and were quickly running to the exit.

Meanwhile, I contemplated. He couldn't have gone far, the smoke would have affected him also. And these men were fast.

They came back shortly, covered in blood.

"It is done my Lord."

I wish I could have been there. All the mercenary talk of his frantic shaking as his blood spattered across the ground excited me.

But this was not the reason I wished to see the death. Experience has taught me and I have learnt to not trust something I have not seen with my own eyes.

Still, his death makes no difference to me.

He is nothing.

There are bigger things to worry about.

...

.

.

.

Will the flow of idiots never cease?

I enjoy myself so needless to say I was not happy to rudely awoken with an extremely hard punch to my head.

Next I was being flung from the bed and rolling into the wall. The crack upon hitting the floor was a hint to a broken bone or two.

Sleep mixed with pain made it hard to make out any distinct shapes in the darkness. That, along with the dark skin of my attacker.

"You?" I questioned, trying to figure out who it was. "Hood's man. I killed your Father." I was rather proud of myself for remembering but this only angered him more.

"And now you killed my friend," he said, along with giving me another punch.

"I wasn't even in Locksley," I sputtered. The pain was making it difficult to form words.

"This was no plan of Gisbourne's. You spurred him along. Now Matthew is dead. The death stops now."

For the first time, I feared for my life. He had changed over this year. But I refused to show fear.

"You still hit like a woman," I said in a desperate attempt to insult him.

I earned a punch.

"And-"

I earned another punch before I could even finish the insult.

The distinct sound of metal informed me of a sword being drawn.

He knelt down beside me, sword to throat.

Meanwhile I was trying not panic. "You know, if you kill me, they will just bring another Sheriff who will be far worse."

"Not likely," he said. "But I suppose that you are rather easy for defeat. So this is for my Father." And he slashed the right side of my face. Extremely deep. Far deeper than I cut him. I could feel blood practically pouring down my face.

"We are practically twins," I joked, noting the scar I had given him two years ago. "I remember. You weren't worth the effort."

He laughed coldly. "I want no connection to you. You my dear Sheriff, are worth the effort. So this is for Matthew."

I could no longer hold back the groan of pain as he sliced the other side of my face.

By now, the majority of my body was covered in blood.

He wasn't finished.

He came even closer and whispered, "one day, I will kill you. But I want you to wait."

Finally, he stood up and walked away. "That's a promise," he said as he walked away.

I hate that man. Punching the floor in anger of my humiliation was not a wise decision as I was already in so much floor.

He was wrong. He would not kill me. I will kill him first.


	29. Waiting in Vain for the Tides to Turn

Chapter Twenty-nine

Chapter Sixteen

"I'd say we're even now," Harold told Robin as we took in the destroyed state of Locksley. "Well you got us into this mess!" he said in response to Robin scoff of disbelief. "And we stood by you in the end. So I'd say we're even. But if you want us to owe you again, we need some help rebuilding."

No longer could Locksley be called a village. Many houses were nothing more than ash. Thomas found slight happiness in the factor of his beloved tavern remaining perfectly standing. Others were not so lucky.

"We can start right now," Robin informed him, much to the grievance of the gang.

A hysterical Amelia interrupted any plans as she came bursting through the crowd and bolted into John's arms.

Lilly was close on her tails as she once again forgot Wills 'no hugging' rule.

Amelia was desperately trying to talk but her sobs deemed this impossible. "We were in Nottingham when we heard," Lilly translated. "We came as fast as we could but the barricades were already up and strong. Those bastards just laughed in our faces."

John had managed to regain some movement out of his wife's death grip and noticed bruises on her wrists. "Did they hurt you?" he said, anger quickly escalating.

A loud scoff from Lilly was quickly followed by the real story. "I'd say you got that slightly backward John. Amelia had the main guard seeing stars before she knocked him out."

It was impossible to tell whose mouth fell open the furthest.

High-spirited cheering from the gang quickly ended the shocked silence.

But then the happiness ended, as we could no longer attempt to forget.

Then the sadness was back.

Luke had run off shortly after the mercenaries had left. No one saw fit to follow.

Meanwhile our friend lay with the dead.

Benny seemed unable to stop staring at something that none of us could see. I suspected that it was Julia's face. As soon as Robin ordered the gang off, he walked off alone.

"I'm guessing that you'll want to check the tavern is ok," Roger said to Thomas but to his surprise he declined. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Besides, shouldn't we make sure all the families have somewhere to sleep first?"

I called Robin over. "There's a body on the east side that I think we should dispose of quietly. I'll explain later."

The fires were easily stopped and we spent the rest of the night sorting small things out.

Families were housed in whatever pitiful shelter we could find. The tavern finally served a decent purpose in my eyes as it became the largest of the safe buildings. Small acts of kindness helped get us through. Things like a child's favourite toy found in the rubble or a large families house being found in perfect condition. Those smiles of gratitude made us believe that this tragedy was pass.

It was beginning to get light when Friar Tuck joined us.

"Where have you been aye?" Michael asked him. "We definitely could have used you help yesterday."

He ignored him. "Robin I have to talk to you."

"Yes we're fine. Yes we are alive. Thanks for asking Tuck," I said, faking hurt.

Tuck was not in the mood. "Robin, Marian is leaving. Prince John is sending her to France and the boat leaves at Sunrise."

Robin didn't stop to ask questions. He was quickly looking around for a horse. Harold offered him one but moaned that he required it back.

"Wait!" I yelled and quickly requested a horse too as did Michael and Much.

"Let's go get her back" Much said as we galloped off.

The Docks were a long way from Locksley and the sun was rising fast. We rode faster than we had ever ridden before.

"There is a ship at the docks," Michael yelled to me. "We can make it."

Robin was going so fast that he didn't even notice that we had fallen back.

We thought it best to let them have their moment.

Robin's heart leapt, as he knew it wasn't too late. There were no guards around so it seemed easy to grab her and ride off. He leapt off his horse and ran up to her.

She wasn't surprised to see us but it worried him how she wasn't exactly happy.

"Come on" he told her. "Time to go."

She hesitated and he felt his heart drop.

"Prince John is not making me go to France. I want to go."

Robin didn't know what to say. She continued, "You know I've always wanted to go to this school and I can finally become a physician. I'll be free from Prince John and all his threats of marriage or a convent. I'll finally be free."

"And what about me?"

Her silence answered the question.

There was more silence as they tried to think of what to say.

She sighed. "Lets face the truth. We were never going to work out were we? And I can suppose that I can finally admit that what everyone says about me is true. Not only am I selfish but also I am also immature. Yes we are getting along right now but something small will come along and one us will make it a big issue and we will be at war again."

"I'm willing to try if you are."

"We shouldn't have to try! It should be easy!" She blinked back tears as she admitted, "and it's not. I just have to get out of here."

"Away from me you mean."

"Robin, I…"

"You don't have to explain," he said, cutting her off. "I get it. You want to go and I have to let you."

He was only pretending to be accepting and was seconds away from physically stopping her. The rest of us did not possess his self-control.

"I think some of the men want to say goodbye," he told her as he beckoned us over.

"Why are we still here?" Much asked, confused. He finally figured it out and a look of horror came onto his face that made us laugh despite the situation.

"Much I want to go" she tried to explain.

He ignored her and turned to Robin. "Why are you letting her go?"

"I really don't know" was the only thing he could think of to say.

"Well I hate you then" he told her as she tried to keep a straight face. "Alright I don't but I am not happy about this." She hugged him.

"So that's how to get him to stop talking," she said as she pulled away and noticed his silence.

"I'm not doing that," I told her.

"Come on Allen" Much said, turning to me. "You know you want to hug me."

"Take me with you" I begged. Marian laughed again through her tears and hugged me. Thankfully I was not silent like Much and began to list all the bad things about France and why she should stay with us.

"Allen" she told him, "Shut up. You're beginning to sound like Much."

Horror caused my silence.

"You're still my favourite cousin," I said.

"And you're still my second favourite" she told me, causing me to hit her.

"I was joking," she said laughing.

"You take care of yourself," I finally said, hugging her again. It was so hard to let her go.

She turned to Michael. "I don't want a hug," he angrily tried to say as he glared at her. She gave him one anyway. He didn't give her reasons to stay. He probably didn't trust himself to speak. Losing a best friend again can do that to a person.

Robin and Marian weren't sure of how to say goodbye. There was a long pause before they finally decided on a hug that neither of them could pull away from.

He couldn't resist kissing her one last time.

The whole things made me want to punch something in frustration.

She gave us one last smile and turned towards the boat.

"Wait!" I said and pulled off one of the outlaw bands from his neck. "Take this," he told her. "Spread the news of our deeds in France. At the very least we get really famous."

She laughed but couldn't ignore the captain's calls.

And then she was on the boat.

We didn't leave until it was a speck on the horizon.

"I'm still waiting for her to come swimming back" Much said.

In truth, we all were.


	30. Final Thoughts of a Good Year

Chapter thirty

31st December 1190

Well there goes another year. Oh has the time truly does fly.

It could have been only yesterday that we were young naive freedom fighters forming a band.

Now our band is even smaller.

Sherwood Forest has her first official graveyard. In all truth, it had been there a while but three graves seemed to make it official.

Wilfred, Levon and Matthew.

I still hear Wilfred's voice every time I pick up a sword. It is usually a complaining voice, telling me that I am holding the weapon wrong. I never did learn the right way. I guess it's too late to change now.

Levon's dinners still remained. And every now and then I do take a moment to just breath and relax. It's good to know that he taught us something.

And Matthew.

One of the best men I ever knew.

All three of them are the best men I ever knew.

Benny left us.

Or should I say Ben?

It is what he insisted we call him right before he left.

Apparently Tuck had recommended him to a monastery and he was off to find his calling there.

I personally don't see how this will work out.

What I did see though, was a small amount of stubble on the man's chin.

He was not our little Benny any more.

Roger hasn't said anything yet but I know that he is considering leaving us too. Some call it spying; I call it being a good friend. But whatever you call it, I went through his things and found countless letters and maps. He wishes to find his daughter. As would any man.

Michael still pretends to be strong but no one really knew how close he and Marian were. I fool myself thinking she was like a sister to me compared to what she was to him.

Thomas has given up drink.

This is a tragedy for all of us as we have to live with the with drawl symptoms.

No one knows whether this change be from a life realisation or his new plan to avoid the woman he loves.

Either way, we all plan to demand he drink again. Soon.

Luke did return but I know not for how long. He has changed too. But this change is not for the good.

Then there are the few.

The fortunate few.

The few who are happy.

John has always been inspiration to me. So much drama occurred this year and all the while he sat back with his wife he adored and simply enjoyed life. Amelia is the same as they model what a healthy relationship can be like.

Lilly has slowly been changing over this past year and I only just succeeded in noticing. When she first joined us, she was quiet as a mouse. Barley a peep was ever heard from her.

Now she wont shut up God dammit.

And dare I say, there may be a small spark between her and Roger?

Maybe he wont be in such a hurry to leave after all.

Then there was Will.

He smiled the other day.

Actually smiled.

This is huge.

Although it is a shame that this smile had to come from near murder but we will take what we can get in this forest of misery.

I exaggerate there.

Sherwood is many things.

Thanks to lack of time, I only documented the major events. Sadly, these were normally morbidly depressing.

There were many good times. As early as the first event of every morning when I would wake first and clang pots and pans by Thomas' head to awake him to the aftermath of a nights drinking.

Then it would take a combination of Merry Men to force John form his slumber using every inch of strength we possessed.

He would then kiss his wife, much to the disgust of Benny who would mime being sick every time.

All this meant that the day had officially begun. From then, every moment was new and exciting.

I suppose that you are all wondering of Robin? He is coping rather well. A few months ago, I recall saying how the fight had gone out of him. Well the same idea applies here but in a different form. The fighting anger had once again left, but only because there was no need for it. There was an odd peace as he could finally focus on his old dream of saving England.

I wouldn't say that it was a good peace, but time promised that one day it could be.

And as for me?

The usual of course.

I am still far superior intellectually to every man here. And far more fantastic in general.

That will do for now.

Bring on this coming year.


	31. A New Year

Another year. Another series of unnecessary drama.

This third year brought about so much more than a few taxes.

We also learnt that betrayal could come from any source, including our own gang. Not to say that there was not plenty of betrayal from the usual sources.

Also, please not the occasional entry that is not mine. Towards the end of the year, we stumbled across a similar journal to this, save for the fact that it was written by the Sheriff. He did not write as often as I. But occasionally we found something helpful to our own story. Something that usually we could have used at the time. But life is life.

Anyway, here is our second year.

Please do not judge us, to say the least, it was not our smartest.

.

.

.

.

29th March 1191

Please excuse the lack of entries. It has been months.

In all honesty, nothing has happened.

Sherwood was still attempting to return to the previous merry state. Camp felt oddly bare. The only ones who remained were Robin, John, Roger, Will, Michael, Much and myself in the actual gang with Amelia and Lilly as out cherry females around camp.

There was a constant forced happiness for a while. Any small event was deemed worthy of celebration. This was possibly as we were so unused to these small events and we wished to enjoy them while they lasted. Thankfully, for once they remained.

The current celebration was the return of Friar Tuck. Shortly after the Locksley affair he had been called off on some religious quest that to be honest, I hadn't listened to.

I never really listened to him you see. When he was our tutor as children, I thought I was far too smart for everything he was teaching me. I was of course. But the others were either dimwitted or just refused to work. Therefore I just sat there, acting proud and refusing to listen. Eventually we came to a compromise as he gave me harder work and I stopped being so rude. So we've never been particularly close but it was still great to have him back. Even if it was just for a sense of normality.

There had been some pretty large changes around camp to say the least. Too many cabins held empty beds.

Meanwhile, small changes had been occurring. Nothing worthy of a single entry, so I suppose that I may as well group them together.

Relationships were always forming but we had a new winner of the strangest couple. Dare I say, Will and Roger had become friends. The two most anti-social men I know had finally realised their similarities and, and much as they tried to hide it, found that they liked each other. They tried to hide it obviously. Friendship was a disease to them. And already, they faced a possible problem. Neither knew it yet. But it didn't take an idiot to see a very different kind of relationship forming. The one between Roger and Lilly. Needless to say, Will would never hear of any Merry Man looking at his sister in the wrong way. I waited eagerly for the day when everything would be brought to the light.

Looking around I could see a change in everyone. There were plenty of obvious changes in appearance. Most had seemed to stop caring about simple hygienic practices and had seemed to stop bother shaving. Robin was one of the prime examples as he now had a small layer of stubble that he refused to shave. I would never stoop so low and remained as clean-shaven as ever. People mocked me for this. They said that it was a trait of the royal family as I was looking more and more like Prince John everyday. Prince John and I do sport the same golden hair and clean shaven face and it scares me to think that I may end up looking like him. It almost scares me into not shaving. Almost.

Our own Little John had taken the opposite approach. Once he was a vibrant single man with the bushy beard to match but then Robin allowed his wife Amelia to join the gang. Amelia had a strict rule on cleanliness and liked everything a certain way. John was still safe for a while as she was busy with the dramas of the previous year. But a long and slow three months had passed. The drama seemed to have vanished and Amelia took it out on the men. Now John's jet-black hair was forced to be cut short and his beard was literally gone. He still looked as menacing as ever when we were hunting in the forest or defeating guards with a single hit to their head. His size could definitely be a factor of this as he was after all around seven feet tall and butch to match. However when placed beside his wife he seemed a lot smaller somehow. She was rather tall and butch herself but that wasn't it. She controlled him and this definitely took the fear away. This was cause for a fair bit of teasing amongst camp for him but only when Amelia was around. She enjoyed this talk as she enjoyed having control. No one would dare say anything bad about her. Not because they were scared of her but because everyone really cared about her. She was a mother type figure around camp and no one minded her constant nagging.

Lilly had undergone one of the most noticeable changes as she had come into her own. Before she was passive and shy as we would be lucky to get a word out of her. At night the gang tended to gather around a campfire and talk or yell about what ever caught their minds. Lilly had such dark skin and dark hair that she easily camouflaged into the darkness at these times. But the rowdy nights had stopped around the time of the Locksley affair. Seeing the death of one of our own and how easily the people would turn on us had dampened our spirits and we never felt like celebrating. She had seen this and one night she had curiously been the one to start the fire and call Much over. Much was the talker of the gang so this was a wise move. Other men were quick to follow and before we knew it, we seemed to be having a good time once more. She changed physically too. It seemed that she no longer wanted to hide in the background and knew that it was the time to stand out. Her hair used to be limp and loosely tied back but she shocked everyone by cutting it short. Not short enough to pass for a male but short enough to make a statement.. It seemed that her hair had taken with it her shyness as once it was gone she became one of the loudest people around camp.

Well not that bad, we still had Much.

Roger had chosen to stay with us thankfully. A few months back I had seen his possession packed and ready. I was one of the only ones who knew why Roger was so sultry. I had met his daughter. The one he had thought was dead. Apparently she was better off without him as he let her go off to what he thought would be a more suitable home. Roger had also grown happier over the past few months and was even seem to comb his unruly red hair on occasion. Amelia had been nagging him too it seemed.

Michael had changed the opposite way to these too. He was the one who now avoided all social gathering and spent all of his time training. In his case however this was probably a necessity as had joined the gang by sheer dumb luck. If we had been judging him on skill than he would never had made it. I suppose that after losing his best friend meant that there was no time for social things. He realised that he had to prove himself to the gang and finally be up to their standard. Much could have taken a lesson from this as he also needed the skill.

He didn't of course.

To the relief of everyone around, Thomas had started drinking again. I had heard of people who turned cruel after too much drink but I had never previously heard of a man who turned cruel without it. However, he was still avoiding Martha, so his drinking occurred around camp, much to the dismay of Amelia and Tuck. Both of these two sighed at him on countless occasion while they shook their heads and complained over his lack of morals. It only made him drink harder.

Luke had changed the most. His brother had been murdered and all he thought of was revenge. We thought Will had been bad but Luke quickly overtook him. He was barley around anymore. No one knew where he went but he went there often. We often joked that Matthew had been his better half. He had definitely been his nicer one. Luke had once carried dreams of being a physician and his best friend had been Old Pete, the physician in Locksley. Pete had often grumbled about how often Luke came to visit him and moaned about needing his own personal time. Now Pete had come visiting us, wondering where his friend had gone. Most of us wondered if Luke would even remain in the gang. He was gone enough for us to have these doubts. But he always came back and tried hard enough when he was here.

Robin was Robin. Enough said. Also, I do grow slightly tired of always talking about him. I really hope that there will be less to write about him this year. Not only because I wish for a change but also because I feel he deserves a slight break from the drama.

It may be time for it to be shared around.

I think I had stayed the same. No major changes. I remained what I like to think of as a healthy mix. This consisted of equal parts socializing and equal parts training. My training was different to everyone else's. I trained my mind which was a necessity when I have pretty much the only brains in the group.

So now that I have caught up, it is time to begin writing of our third year of being outlaws. This makes me wish I had written about the first. It seems odd even to me that I had plenty of written evidence of our second year but none of the first. Nothing happened then anyway.

Regardless to say, plenty of things are going to happen this year.


	32. Our Own Traitor

Chapter Thirty-two

I know that I predicted for plenty to occur for that year. What I was unaware of was how soon things would begin.

Apparently, they started long ago.

I could have never predicted that we would be betrayed by one of our own.

At the end of the year 1191, Much found the Sheriff's new journal which confirmed many things that I wish we had known sooner.

Be thankful, dear reader that you do not have to go through the same confusion that we did.

I placed relevant entries alongside my own in chronological order.

Please keep in mind, we obviously knew nothing at the time about the Sheriff's many plans. So you have no reason to judge us.

Feel free to judge that traitor though.

….

_19__th__ January 1191_

_Esteemed words of the Sheriff of Nottingham._

_So many trials deem fit to come my way. Naturally, there is a saying of bad things happening to bad people. I have always prided myself on being a bad person. This would easily be my best quality._

_ Thankfully, it seems those trials could soon cultivate into something good._

_ I will not say more than I should. Many a fool often pries through belongings that they have no right to see. Just know that I have plans._

_ Prince John meanwhile sees fit to blame me for his all his wrong doings. He is a frustrating man but even I must bite my tongue during his presence. His bad moods can be measured by the act of his raping those damned fingers. This only occurs in moments of absolute frustration. There is never an accompanying sound as one must wait for him to form words. Much like a common fool._

_ Finally he spoke. "You have failed me," was all he would say._

_ Any coward would sputter out excuses. I am no coward._

_ Apparently his message was not voiced to a high enough extent the first time as he repeat, "you have failed me," but this time the calmness was replaced with a yell of fury. He continued, "Are you aware of how important that information was that you held? And you let it go straight to Hood?"_

_ I forgot to mention that he was not speaking directly to me. One of my best men was the actual intended victim._

_ The prince grew bored and gave me that wonderful familiar flick of the hand._

_ Oh how I loved that flick._

_ It gave me permission to whip out a dagger and stab the man deep in the back._

_ I loved looking deep into a persons eyes as they died. It was almost as if we had a special connection. _

_Meanwhile, Prince John ha slumped in that gigantic chair of his, hand over his forehead to block the impended head ache that he always had when he got too angry. "Tell me how bad the situation is," he moaned to me._

_ I remained as calm as always as I said, "My Lord you have no need to worry. Hood will have no idea what he has uncovered. It was written that way. He could puzzle over it work weeks but he has no such time. It will soon be forgotten."_

_ He looked across at all the parchment strewn across the desk. "All this work. All those years of planning. And only one man to destroy it!" In anger, he dove his own dagger deep into the wood of the table. "You know, I trust you Sheriff. I'm not sure why. I know all the horrible deeds you've done. I guess we both want the same thing. Power. When we control England we shall have that."_

_ I simply nodded. I was not a man of many words in most situations. _

_ So he continued "The thorn in our side, as it has been for some time…"_

_ "Hood" he finished. "Well what can we do? We tried to weaken him at any means possible. We tried turning the villagers on him. Nothing works."_

_ "Thank you" John cut in angrily "I do not need a reminder of our failures."_

_ "If I may Sire" I continued "I would like to offer a solution. We obviously cannot kill Hood," he said "So we should use him. Use him without him realising. We need to know how his inner gang works. We need an inside man."_

_ "Because it's that easy," he replied sarcastically._

_ I whistled, loudly. The Prince glared at him as he covered his ears. The doors opened and he smiled for the first time that day as one of Hood's own men walked through the door_

_ "Sire" the Sheriff continued "this is Luke. He is willing to work for us for a fee."_

_ "I don't care about them money" Luke told us. "I want Gisbourne to pay. I heard that something big is going to happen and when that does, I want Gisbourne to be one of the first with his head on the block."_

_ "He does have his conditions though," Prince John said, looking for any flaws in the plan so he could avoid acknowledging my brilliance._

_ "I'm not helping you kill Robin. I'll give you information on how to stop some of his plans. I'll help you ensure things like your tax money are safely delivered to you and any other small schemes but I won't help you kill anyone."_

_ The Prince considered. _

_ "Deal" he said. The outlaw turned to walk out but The Prince gestured for me to stop him. I did so, very forcefully much to Prince John's happiness. "He wasn't finished," I told him calmly. It was obvious that he was on edge now. I rather enjoyed his cowering._

_ "I do not like being betrayed" the Prince told him "and do not give me lies about how honest and good you are because take a look at yourself. You are betraying your own master. If this is a double cross, I will make you pay."_

_ With that I gave a slight nod and the Sheriff pushed the man out of the door._

_ "I think things are finally going in our favour Sheriff."_

_ And finally, they really were._


	33. The New Lot

So I previously mentioned in passing that we were a little short on men.

This was not to fill some empty hole in our hearts. Taxes were still leading to starving Saxons and there was only so much that seven men could do.

"Anyway," Robin said, calling everyone together. "It's time to talk business. Prince John is getting angry with us and the taxes are worse than ever. We're growing short on men and we're loosing control. We need more men."

Everyone groaned. "People aren't exactly cueing up to join like they were when we all joined," John told him

"And we weren't exactly queuing" Much said. "You practically begged me." He ignored the scoffs and believe me, there was many a scoff.

Robin ignored the groans. "Everyone get out there and bring back a new member."

"Easier said then done," Roger told Will. "I don't know people."

"That's why you team up with someone," Will replied. "Let them do the work and share the credit. I've got Allen. He seems the annoying type of person who knows people."

I knew there was a reason Will had asked to be paired with me. We hated each other after all. Well hate is probably a strong word. It was more he resented me for being rich and I enjoyed mocking his dedicating training antics. We had fun tearing each other down so no one really minded our strange relationship.

Roger purveyed the men before him. John would know people but he is very intimidating, Amelia or No. Luke didn't know anyone and has been very moody since Matthew who ironically would have been the best at this. Much is too bloody annoying. I guess that left him with Thomas.

He worked up his best fake smile and strode up to him. "So where are we headed?"

"Tavern" he replied.

"I knew I like you for a reason."

Roger had never really been to the tavern. It was one of those friendly places where everyone talked about their problems but he found strength in the fact that it couldn't be too bad if there was plenty of ale. "Is the disguise really necessary?" Roger asked Thomas "it's starting to get pathetic."

"I am not pathetic," he said defensively. "Now go up there and get some drinks and if she asks about me then I am perfectly happy and haven't thought or talked about her in ages. But don't make it sound like you're lying. And don't make me sound desperate."

"Could you ask me something that's not impossible?" Roger ran off before Thomas could hit him.

He figured the pretty red head must be Martha. This was confirmed when she talked to him. "So is he still trying the pathetic disguise thing?"

"Yes" he said "but I'm not supposed to make him sound desperate."

"Good luck" she scoffed.

"What did she say? Did she miss me? Did you make me sound desperate?"

A man jumped into a spare seat beside us and told me "when he obsesses like this the only thing to do is empty the rest of your cup on his head."

Roger was torn. The wish to humiliate someone in love versus his need to get drunk enough to not have to listen to petty problems.

He chose humiliation. The look on Thomas's face made it clear Roger had chosen right.

"Mark, why?" Thomas asked as he wiped the ale from his eyes.

"I was bored" was the man's explanation. Roger liked him.

Then Thomas jumped up with realisation and slammed his hand on the table to get our attention. "Mark, you should join the gang."

Roger wasn't convinced. He looked the man up and down slowly. "I don't think so."

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to judge people by appearances?" Mark asked Roger.

"So I shouldn't judge you on the fact that you looked like you haven't bathed in a month, appear to enjoy seeing how long you can grow your hair, both on your head and facial and I am seriously considering running away to France to escape your smell?"

"Right" he got up and drew some pretty intimidating looking daggers from his belt. "Same wager?" he asked Thomas who nodded. "Prepare to be amazed," he told Roger as Thomas blindfolded him and began to spin him in circles. Roger feared for his life. To his surprise once Thomas whipped off the blindfold, Mark instantly threw the daggers in quick succession to a mark in the wall on the opposite side of the tavern. All hit the wall in a perfect line, inches apart.

Roger was speechless. "It takes more then impeccable aim, and I mean impeccable, to be in the gang. Like the ability to bathe."

They were interrupted by me. Running in quickly told them "Gisbourne's back."

No one was sure where he went but we were all sure we didn't want him back.

I was with John at the time. We had been scouting Nottingham town when we saw him.

John had sent me off to the tavern, the place I knew at least one merry man would be. We both prayed that we would find Luke or at least finding someone who would know where he would be. I could only find Thomas and Roger and neither of them knew anything.

"Does anyone know where Luke is?" I asked them hurriedly. "I don't mind if he tries to kill Gisbourne but I do care if he gets killed in the process."

No one knew. "He's been disappearing constantly these past few months how should we know where he is now?"

John had to take charge. "We'll have to assume he knows Gisbourne is back and is after him. So if we find Gisbourne we find Luke. We heard some guards saying that Gisbourne is going straight to Nottingham. I suggest we run."

"Should we be worrying about Robin finding out what with…" Thomas asked but trailed off.

"We'll worry about that when we get there. We'll split up to search the whole town."

There was no sign of Gisbourne anywhere. I wasn't disappointed. I really hated him. Unfortunately this couldn't last and eventually I saw him. He had changed slightly. He hadn't let his looks go like I hoped and was still dashinly handsome. It was easy to see a few similarities between the Robin and Gisbourne. Both had seemed to forget what shaving was these past few months. At least Gisbourne's hair was lighter so the blonde hairs on his face were a lot less visible than Robin's,

"You go alert the others," John told me. "I'll stop Gisbourne."

The other thing that hadn't changed was how Gisbourne had a young man at sword point threatening to cut his tongue out. There was no sign of Luke but John knew he still had to step in. He didn't need any of the fancy bow and arrow tricks that every one else used. He literally charged in there, yelling his head off with his quarterstaff raised. Gisbourne dropped the man in shock and didn't draw his weapon in time. One hard blow to the head and he was hurled backwards, easily knocked out. John wondered why Robin found it so hard to kill him. He could easily lean over and give him another large blow to the head. He was seriously considering it until he saw all of the young children watching him with awe struck eyes. John's size made them recognise him and the fact that he had just defeated a bad guy made him a hero to them. The man who he had saved was in front of all of them. He was very nervous but managed to sputter out "You're Little John."

I nodded in acknowledgment. "I was just telling the children of you. Of all of you. I'm Greg. I tell stories to the children, mainly about Robin Hood and his merry men. Gisbourne overheard and threatened to cut out my tongue if I told any more lies."

They were interrupted by Gisbourne's guards. There wasn't many and John could easily take them down. To John's surprise Greg jumped in front of John and in no time at all had them lying in a pile by his feet.

"Have you ever considered being an outlaw?" he asked him and to John's surprise Greg was interested. He had a kind of outlaw look about with his floppy black hair that kept falling in his dark eyes.

Thomas ran over "I found Luke and he's really mad so we have to find Gisbourne and oh…" he trailed off as he saw the passed out Gisbourne and the passed out guards. "You are good."

"I cant take all our the credit" John told him "Greg here did all the guards by himself. I think he may be good enough to join us." Thomas's face instantly changed. Not excitement as John suspected but suspicion. "I see what you're doing" he informed John.

"What is that?" John asked, genuinely confused.

"You found out that Roger and I found a great new member and you are trying to beat us well it's not going to work because ours will beat yours easily."

"Mine single handily defeated four guards in no time at all, what can yours do?"

"Throw daggers with amazing accuracy despite factors such as dizziness and drunkenness."

John scoffed at that. Greg meanwhile was standing awkwardly beside them, listening to them banter about him. "Can I go now?" he asked as soon as they paused for breath.

"Yes but be at the entrance to Sherwood as sunrise tomorrow morning." John told him.

"So my man can take you down," Thomas added.

"So you can prove your skills to Robin" John corrected "and take down his man." he whispered.

John knew he had to be the first one to tell Robin that he had found a new member. That way all the excitement would go to him. Unfortunately while his size is good for knocking people out, it was not so good for running.

"We should set our petty problems aside," he told Thomas "maybe I should hide Gisbourne somewhere and you go and calm Luke l down. You're better at that then me."

He nodded slowly but John could see he was seeing through the plan. John shoved him as hard as he could and ran. The shove only temporarily fazed Thomas and he was faster. John tackled him to the ground but he got up again and quickly caught up.

"Ok" John yelled as this went on and on. "This is never going to work. Why don't we calmly go back to camp and calmly tell Robin we both found a man."

He slowly nodded again.

John knew what this meant.

They both ran again.

It was the longest trip to camp they had ever taken and as John predicted, they got back at the same time. Robin wasn't there.

"You just missed him" Will informed them as they groaned, mainly in pain from all the bruises we had given each other.

So they waited. It has never been this silent around camp. Even when Roger, Luke and I returned, we understood something was going on and kept silent.

When Robin finally returned they both leapt at him, trying to out yell the other over then man that we found. Robin wasn't as excited as they thought he would be. It was confusion over trying to make out what we were saying mixed with the fear of us yelling unknown things at him.

Robin gestured to Much who did his piercing whistle and they both broke off to cover our ears. "One at a time" Robin told us as they began to recover. He didn't tell them which one went first so we both began again. Much whistled again.

"John go first," Robin corrected himself. It was a great moment for the man as he finally had victory.

"I have single handily found us a new member who single handily defeated four of Gisbourne's men in no time at all."

John had made a mistake. "Gisbourne's back?" Robin asked. He quickly tried to move on. "That's great. We have three men now."

Thomas and John were both confused and annoyed at being stood up.

"Much got us someone," Robin explained.

"Not by choice" Much informed us.

We were all confused so Much continued. "I was visiting home and let slip that we were looking for new men. One of my brothers wants to join."

We all gasped collectively. "Please God no" Roger said "We can not have two Much's living here. We will go insane."

"Oh contraire" Much continued "everyone likes him. He's good at everything, archery, swords play, getting with women."

This changed the tone. Everyone began murmuring excitedly.

"See, this is why I'm upset" Much continued. "I hate living in my all of my brothers shadows. Here I was my own person."

"Much" Roger stepped beside him, ready to comfort "If it makes you feel any better you were always really annoying and we all just put up with you anyway."

So it was decided. At sunrise all our new men would come and show Robin their skills. Thomas and John had glaring contests all night. They both really wanted their man to be better.

And that is how we all ended up at the decided clearing. John was glaring at Thomas. He was glaring back at him. Much was mumbling angrily something that no one was listening. Luke was ignoring everything going on and looked extremely bored. Michael was extremely confused as he had been visiting his family and no one bothered to fill him in. Roger and Will were avoiding each other still trying to hide the fact that they were friends. Robin and I found the whole thing hilarious.

Finally the men turned up. The problem was that they brought a woman. John had his fingers crossed as he thought "please don't let my man have been the one who brought a woman."

It was.

"Nice pick John" Thomas whispered triumphantly.

Greg began to explain but the women cut in. "I can speak for myself Greg" she angrily told him and turned to Robin. "I assume you're the leader of this gang."

"Was it my leader like demeanor or my astounding good looks that gave it away?"

"I've heard Robin Hood has a feather in his hat." Robin looked disappointed as she refused to spare his feelings. "Anyway" she continued "I want to join your gang."

Everyone gave into hysterical laughter.

"It's not funny," she yelled but most of us were already rolling on the ground laughing. "I wager I can beat these other three men at all of your tasks."

"I'll take that," Thomas said, leaping forward. "What have you got to wager?" He looked her up and down while she looked disgusted and turned away from him. She told Robin "I wager that if I can beat these men at all your tasks you have to let me join the gang. If I fail, I'll leave."

"Go ahead" Robin decided.

"Alright Gentlemen" I said, stepping forward to announce the tasks. I quickly coughed and corrected himself. "And Lady. Kindly step up to the mark and load your quivers. We have targets ready. Let the archery section commence!" I finished with a flare that everyone ignored. I was disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm "I was hoping for some clapping, maybe a bit of cheering."

They all prepared their arrows. Thomas stepped up to Mark and whispered "Go and make me look good. And well done, I see you shaved, and bathed. It must have been a big day for you."

I was shocked at that. The man looked very put together. It made sense though, Thomas would pull someone out of a bar. Now that I looked closer I could see the bruises that could only come from a bar fight and the slightly bloodshot eyes that Thomas often sported.

"Your man is drunk," John whispered to Thomas.

"He's still going to beat yours." John scoffed but regretted it when Mark easily shot three arrows towards the centre of the target. We had put the target quite far away and he was better than most of the men already in the gang. "And that's what he can achieve drunk" Thomas whispered.

Robin motioned for Bryce to go. Much wasn't exaggerating. The man was handsome and pretty good with a bow. Plus he didn't look like he complained so he was already better than Much in my opinion. It was extremely hard to find similarities between the brothers in all areas. Incredibly tall and muscular versus short and stout. Dark brown hair versus light brown. The facial expression was the big thing. Bryce constantly had a nice calm look versus Much's looking that expressed constant discomfort.

Bryce wasn't as good as Mark at archery but he was still good.

Greg was next. John had his fingers crossed as he murmured a silent prayer. Archery was not his strong point and only two of his arrows made it onto the target. Thomas held back his laughter for Greg's sake but I could tell he was extremely happy.

Finally the girl stepped up. I should stop referring to her as girl, it is probably demeaning. She was not particularly young. Definitely in the clasps of womanhood. She was quite good looking. Not beautiful but not ugly. She hadn't been blessed with perfect features of anything but something about her face made you not want to look away. She also had long black hair and quite a nice figure. Still, we had seen far prettier people woman through camp. The fact of her average looks wouldn't matter if she joined the gang. The men would go crazy anyway. Amelia was protected because she is married to John and Lilly was protected because she is Will's sister. I wondered if Greg would protect her. Being the new member I don't think that would be wise. It was clear she didn't need protecting as she easily beat Mark's score. Each arrow shot perfectly towards the target with pristine accuracy.

Everyone's mouths fell open in shock. She smirked when she saw this. "What's next?"

Next was swordplay. Robin understood the battle Thomas and John were having and put Mark and Greg together. The fight didn't last long. Greg defeated Mark almost instantly. Mark was on the ground puffing as John held in his cheers. Next was the woman against Bryce. She had the advantage as Bryce didn't want to hurt her. He approached her cautiously, obviously thinking her fragile. That was a mistake. She leapt at him and although the fight lasted longer than the first, it still ended in a clear win.

The four of them were all puffing by this point.

"I see you're all tired" Robin said as they nodded in agreement. "I think it's a good time to face me then."

The looks on their faces were priceless. "I'll go easy," Robin told them. Bryce stepped forward first, clearly wanting to win back some dignity after being so easily defeated by a girl. He fought well. He was good at defense, clearly he was more or a passive person then a fighter. But Robin easily bested him Mark was next and Robin defeated him easily. Greg was good but also favored defense rather than attack. The girl did not and she attacked Robin hard. They fought the longest and he seemed to be enjoying it. It was inevitable though and he disarmed her as she fell to the ground panting.

"Thank you everyone," Robin told them "I'll need some time to discuss with my men."

Michael was the first to speak up. "How do you expect to keep saying "discuss with my men" if you let a women join the gang?"

"Aye?" Robin said.

So Michael continued "How can you keep saying 'my men' if there is a women? What are you going to say 'men and women?' That's long and it'll get tiring."

"Can I just say" John cut in "my man was clearly the best."

Thomas scoffed "Please. Your man failed at archery and frankly I don't think we can risk having someone that bad at archery in the gang."

"He beat your high score" John fumed. "And what about your man in swordplay? He was down in no time at all."

"That's enough" Robin told us. "They were all great and should all join us."

"But then we wont be the merry men" Michael continued. "We'll be the merry men plus woman. People won't want to say all that. They will get angry"

We all ignored him and turned back. "We would all be thrilled if you all joined us."

Michael and I sighed. "Do they never learn?" Michael asked me as we wandered back to camp, "woman in Sherwood are never a good omen.

I sighed too but laughed as I remembered a factor of why he could be upset. "Would this have anything to do with that woman who was following after you around Locksley a while back. What was her name?"

"I do not recall," Michael lied. "Besides, I think I finally lost her. Goodness me she was annoying. I did nothing to encourage her, yet she never received the bloody message."

"Besides," he continued, "you know why I think woman around Sherwood are a bad idea."

I sighed and left the topic behind.

"So how do you think the new lot will fare in the forest?" I asked him.

"They are going to be eaten alive."

I agreed.


	34. Far More Complicated than a few Taxes

_Chapter Thirty-four_

_31__st__ March 1191_

_Esteemed words of the Sheriff of Nottingham_

_My little traitor came again today. Honestly I have grown slightly bored of him. He was not lying when he said he would only help us with small pieces of information. Sure, he has prevented a fair amount of tax money falling back into Hood's hands but the endless cycle of tax money continues. We steal from the poor. Hood steals from us. Hood gives back to the poor. We steal from the poor. Does no one else tire of this?_

_ This visit was clearly different. He was not here to help me._

_ This was for Gisbourne._

_ "I want to kill him!" he yelled at me, rather rudely I thought. I liked my silence and he always ruins it._

_ "But what good will that do us?" I said. "If he dies then our little talks will cease. And I do so love our little talks."_

_ He was angry to say the least. "Where is he?" he roared._

_ "Gisbourne finally became useful to me. As long as I have him, you will keep doing what I say. I will allow you to kill him. But not yet. I need my spy a little longer."_

_ 'This is no game! You said I could kill Gisbourne." Goodness he was sounding repetitive. _

_ "And you shall. When Prince John's plan is underway. Until then, Gisbourne is off doing a special job for me. He will return eventually. And I will happily let you kill him then. But for now, we need him."_

_ The man glared at me as he realised this would not be a simple time._

_ "England is getting far more complicated than a few taxes," I explained. "All shall be made clear in all due time. Until then, do you have anything useful for me or do I have to have you escorted out by force?"_

_ He sighed and gave me the little he knew. "Four new members joined us today."_

_ "Brilliant. Four new ants to stomp out." I hoped he understood how truly bored I was by this._

_ "One is a woman."_

_ And with that, he had a slight amount of my attention._


	35. Allen: The Hero

Chapter Thirty-five

The gang was rather crowded after that. Big crowds tend anger the odd person.

Much received the brunt of the annoyance apparently. He complained to me "I'm always the one who's in the way or taking up or the space. It doesn't help that my brother is there to tell everyone embarrassing childhood stories. It's as I feared. Everyone likes Bryce. Everyone respects Bryce which was what I had strived for these past two years to no avail."

Greg quickly gained the role of entertainer and became the storyteller for the gang. He kind of took the place of Matthew in the way that everyone liked him. This was to the annoyance of Luke who hated him for the qualities that he shared with his brother.

Having Mark around was like having another Thomas. Both enjoyed getting drunk and not caring about the consequences.

So basically all of the men were easily fitting into outlaw life.

Keighley was a different story.

She was a woman, we weren't used to living with a young and available women. Amelia was married and Lilly was off limits thanks to Will and everyone considered her to be like a sister anyway.

Keighley was a different story. She was not off limits as far as I knew and she was rather pretty. There was plenty of other qualities, don't get me wrong. But I can assure you that none of these other qualities were what granted her such rapturous attention.

I remember Michael telling me "It's only a matter of time you know."

"Till what?" I asked

"Until she starts causing drama around. Men cannot function properly with a pretty women around. Until there's a ring on her finger it wont be safe around here. Prepare for the war."

I scoffed at that but began to look at those so called 'free' men scattered around camp.

"Mark will be the first," Michael informed me. "You know how he has this odd condition where he believes women are drawn to him. He has already been dropping not so subtle hints and she already told him where to go. Women like smart men, namely you, but your cockiness will be your downfall. Luke doesn't count, he hates people now. Much is a complete idiot. Roger is all silent and moody but women seem to like that. They like a sense of mystery and he is very mysterious. Greg is her brother, gross. Robin is all scarred, you know what I mean. Will is the same problem as Roger. My bet is on Bryce."

"Typical" Much said as he glared at his brother. "He always gets everything."

Michael and I looked at him with an all-knowing look. "You like her don't you?"

He choked on the water he had been drinking and tried sputtering out his denial to no avail.

"You know this is what she wants right? She wants everyone in love with her to use it to her advantage" Michael said.

"Are you serious? Why do you hate her so much? Unless-" I gasped as it became obvious "You like her don't you?"

He scoffed at that. I was impressed at how he didn't choke like Much did. "There is no way I will ever fall for her false little act."

Thomas and Mark ran into us, clearly in hurry they obviously didn't want to be disturbed. So naturally we followed.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Why are you going?" Michael added.

"I am going to confront that horrible harlot and tell her exactly how she ruined my life." Thomas told me.

"I want to see him crash and fail," Mark told us.

So they tried to run but we had a different opinion.

"Clearly this is a sensitive moment of which it would be very rude to go and watch," I told the others whose faces fell. Everyone oh so enjoyed watching other Merry Men embarrass themselves. So we hesitated for a second and then darted after them. We spent the trip ridiculing Thomas and telling him all the horrible things that could happen but he never responded. He kept that determined look on his face as he marched up to the tavern.

"Wait here" he barked at us. We waited for a brief moment and then barged in and found an empty booth.

"I think he's actually going to do it" Mark said, astonished. "He hasn't made it up to the bar before. He normally chickens out half way up there."

We waited with held breaths.

He chickened out and turned back towards us.

We were about to given him the ridiculing of the century when Keighley burst through the door. Everyone in the tavern was shocked. Short of Martha, women were never seen in such an establishment. She quickly scanned the room, ignoring all the comments and whistles from the men around and quickly cam over to us.

"We've got to go," she told us in a hushed but frantic tone. "The sheriff has been taking slaves from Locksley. Robin needs you now."

It was strange how relieved Thomas looked at the mention of slaves.

"What's the plan?" Michael asked Robin as the rest of us were too puffed to talk. Robin didn't take his eyes off the people being rounded up as he told us, "we haven't got one."

"Yes we do" Will cut in.

"I'll rephrase" Robin said. "We don't have a decent one."

"All I propose" Will continued, getting angry "is that one of us gets arrested."

We all scoffed at that one. "Great plan" Mark told him "if that wasn't what we should avoid doing."

"Actually" Roger told us "it makes sense. That way we have a man on the inside." He turned red as he realised that he was finally siding with a friend, something he had always loathed.

"Who wont know anything more than we know now and will be in a lot of danger," said Robin.

"Well are we going to stand by and do nothing?" John asked, getting angry. "We should attack." Quarter staff in hand, the man had the crazed look once again. Having the kindest heart had its disadvantages. John always took pain on others the hardest. It made it all the easier to take the pain out on those who deserved it.

"Sure, if we weren't severely outnumbered which would result in our arrest anyway. We have to do Will's plan" I finally concluded.

It was a dark day when Will and I agreed on something.

"The question is," Keighley asked "who is brave enough to go?"

I don't know what was going through his head. I suppose he figured that women like brave men. "Ill do it" Much finally said.

Everyone paused. Then they all laughed. And not just laughed. Hysterically roared. This stopped when they saw he was serious.

"It's fine Much, I'll go" Robin told him.

"Because you'll blend in so well?" Keighley asked, dripping in sarcasm, "No one is bound to recognise you."

"It's genius actually," Mark decided. "No one will suspect Much because he looks like a wimp." Much nodded in agreement before realising what he was agreeing to.

I must have been the only seeing the problem. But the plan was set. Much was placed amongst the group being taken to the palace. It wasn't only men. It consisted of the strongest looking men and the most beautiful of the women. Robin still didn't like the plan and Much felt rather pleased at how much Robin didn't want to put him in danger.

The plan changed rather quickly, the second Martha was brought out. All of our eyes went to Thomas as he was already half way to the guards who were restraining her. All attempts at stopping him had failed. Keighley on the other hand wasn't letting him go. Briefly forgetting about the guards, she ran out to stop him. The guards had her instantly. John and Robin were restraining the remaining men to ensure they didn't join them. I could tell things were only going to get worse and Keighley joined Much and whispered "the man in front of us is Martha's husband."

We could see that Thomas knew this. His face said it all.

"You don't need to be scared" Much told Keighley as they were herded in carts.

"I'm not," she told him. He wasn't convinced but the look she gave him made him stop pushing the subject. She didn't like to be considered weak.

Martha tried to say something to Thomas but he ignored her and came to stand by the other gang members.

"So the plan didn't go as planned" he tried to say with false cheer but stopped at the sight of Keighley's glare. "Sorry."

They were placed in a giant room. Strangely the dudgeons were preferable. At least Robin would know to look for them there. They quickly inspected the room. There were no windows in sight and the door was the only form of escape. Unfortunately this was locked and severely guarded. It appeared that they could be there for a while.

"We're all going to be fine" Much told everyone "Robin Hood is on the case."

People's faces actually lit up at this.

They retreated to the corner to discuss tactics.

"I don't think any of these people could fight if need it" Keighley said. "The men may be strong but it's from working in the fields. I doubt any of them have ever even held a sword. And as for the women-" She cut off as it was apparent she was too disgusted to continue. She hated women being weak and most of the ones in the room were either crying or hiding behind the men.

"They're just scared" Much told her "it's ok to admit you're scarred at times."

"Not when there is nothing to gain from it. I assume this is where you break down and tell me how scared you are and cry like a little girl?"

"No this is the part where we think of a plan to save these people."

"Thomas, are you even with us?" Keighley asked but it was apparent he wasn't. He was too focused on Martha sitting with her husband on the other side of the room.

Needless to say, all attempts at a plan were futile. "Useless!" Keighley yelled to herself and sank to the floor in the corner, head between her knees.

"Maybe we should comfort her?" Much said to Thomas but he was already walking over to Martha. Much was torn, comfort Keighley or watch Thomas humiliate himself.

"Be right back" he said to Keighley as he followed Thomas. It was a foolish choice. Thomas changed his mind again and came and sank by Keighley. It could have been Much's imagination but he could swear that Martha looked disappointed.

Much also noticed that everyone else around the room looked disappointed at the lack of effort on their part. "Ok enough of this" Much whispered to them. "These people are relying on our for leadership and you are showing them that there is no hope. Thomas, these people need bravery and you're too afraid to confront Martha. You face death almost everyday and I have never seen you scared of that? You are one of the bravest men I know and now I need you to show these people. And Keighley, you are not hopeless. You are smart, brave, practical, beautiful-" he couldn't believe that he just said that "and you can think of a plan."

"What about you?" Thomas asked.

"Haven't you been paying attention?" he asked matter of factly, "I'm pathetic and needy and no one likes me."

They nodded in agreement.

They were rudely interrupted by Martha's husband Rowan who had been rudely eavesdropping. I guess it wasn't too hard in a silent room. "That's all well and great but how do we get out of here?"

They hesitated while hurriedly trying to think of a plan.

They still had nothing.

"So all those inspirational speeches" he continued "were just another waste of time. You're all pathetic."

Martha leapt up trying to stop him but he swung around and hit her hard on the jaw. Thomas was across the room in a second and knocked Rowan to the floor who was up again in a second. Both men were blind with rage as they went at each other. Keighley found a loose stone in the wall and with amazing accuracy threw it at Rowan's head. It stunned him for a second which allowed Much to hit as him hard as he could right on the head. Everyone was pleased as he fell to the floor.

"Anyone else doubt us or enjoy hitting their wives?" Much yelled, really getting into the drama. No one did. "Good, because I'm tired," and he slumped back down.

We heard footsteps and the door opened to reveal the sheriff. "Right my pretties. Time to go."

…

_Esteemed words of the Sheriff of Nottingham _

_Prince John could see this spy idea was going to work. Luke didn't cower before him like so many others. For this, the Prince respected him. But only slightly._

_ "Hood has some men in your slaves" he told me. "Three to be exact. Except one is a woman, one is an idiot and one is love struck. It wasn't planned that they were all there. Robin is using this to his advantage though. He knows where your guests will be staying and how to easily take their place. He can get in with weapons. The act that there is already men in there means he has to sneak less in which is a lot easier."_

_ "This is a pretty basic plan for Hood" the Sheriff commented._

_ "He doesn't know what he is planning for," Luke said, angrily defended his master. "He has no idea why you have slaves or what he is up against"_

_ "Bla bla bla" Prince John cut him off. "You may go now."_

_ The man hesitated. "You promised that if I told you this you wouldn't kill any of us."_

_ The Prince ignored him. "Pay the man and make him leave." I happily shoved him out the door and threw the money after him._

_ "Time to change our plan slightly."_

….

"Are you ok?" Greg asked Bryce. He was getting rather sick of the question.

"You know you must be the fourth person to ask me that today? People don't seem to understand that Much has been doing stupid things his whole life. I'm used to it by now. He always manages to get out of it."

Bryce didn't mean to snap at him. He knew he shouldn't as Greg was one of his closet friends in the gang.

"Sorry" he told Greg. "I'm just worried about him."

Greg nodded and Bryce realised what a selfish git he was. "Are you ok? Keighley is there too."

"Oh I don't worry about Keighley," he said proudly. "She has a way of getting out of any situation without so much as grazing a knee. It's been that way since we were kids."

"So what do you think they're discussing?" Greg asked as he gestured to Robin and a few of his most trusted men who were in heated conversation.

"Whether or not to bring us," Bryce said. "Think about it. They can only take a few men or it'll be suspicious when no one heard of any of the men in there. They are going to be in capes but if someone checks under the hoods and sees how many unknown people there are it could blow the whole thing. It's a tough decision. People who care about the victims will fight harder but if they care too much then there emotions will get in the way and they could do something stupid."

What we weren't aware of was that Bryce had excellent hearing and eavesdropping skills. He edged closer to hear what they were saying.

"Why cant I go?" John was asking.

"Your size will give you away in an instant" I told him.

"And I suppose you get to go?" John asked angrily.

Robin cut in "enough John, you will lead the men in the courtyard. You know the plan. We will lead the guards that way and you help us take care of them. Will, I want you to come with me and yes John, Allen comes too because he is sneaky and not as good as you at fighting"

John scoffed happily at the insult about me. Anything for his ridiculous pride. "What about Luke?" he asked.

"I don't even know where he is," Robin said. "If he shows up he'll go with you."

"What about me?" Michael asked.

"Go with John" Robin told him as Michaels face dropped in disappointment.

Then they mumbled boring other plans and Bryce went back to Greg.

"I couldn't hear where they're sending us" he told him "but do you know how Michael joined the gang? It just occurred to me now that he doesn't really have many skills in swordplay or archery. Was music once an entrance option?"

Greg shrugged as them rest of the men joined us.

"Greg you go with John, Luke, Roger, Thomas and Mark. Bryce you're coming with me, Allen and Roger."

Bryce gave an apologetic look to Greg as he ran off, savoring his victory. He used the long walk to the castle to enquire about Michael.

"He joined the same way Much did" I told him. "A strange act of courage that we haven't seen since."

"Actually we cant say that anymore" Roger said. "Much may have actually done something brave today."

"How blind are you?" I asked. "He did that to impress Keighley and nothing more."

Bryce couldn't believe how he hadn't noticed that Much adored Keighley.

Robin had been very silent throughout this.

"Have I hit a nerve?" Bryce asked him. "Did he embarrass you like Much did?"

"Much did not embarrass me," Robin laughed. "No there's just not much to tell with Michael. He helped save me from some guards and I like his playing. I normally think street musicians are crazy but in his case, it was peculiar how I actually liked him."

Then there was no more discussion. It was odd to Bryce. He had no idea.

"So that's it?" Bryce asked. "Come on Allen you love telling embarrassing stories of when people first join the gang."

"Well I guess nothing embarrassing happened when Michael joined" I responded and again there was no more discussion.

There were far more pressing things to worry about.

It was easy enough to remove four of the Lords and 'borrow' their cloaks and seals.

"Right," Robin said. "It's time to go in. We don't know what's going to happen in there. We just have to get the slaves out safely. Has everyone got their seals?"

The other two murmured their "yes" as I rummaged around my cloak.

"I may have left it in his room."

"We'll met you in there" Robin told me as I raced back to get it.

I returned in time to see the others getting captured.

Apparently they were checking faces and had easily recognised Robin and his two men. They easily escaped the guards of course and Robin secretly gestured for me to continue as they ran off.

I don't think I've ever been more scared as I walked up there alone, knowing that they were onto the plan. They examined my seal and nodded as I was granted access. I was about to cheer in triumph before I realised what I was about to do and stopped myself.

The scene that met my eyes took the cheer right out of me. The slaves were hard to miss as they were chained along the wall. I found Much and Thomas quickly and Keighley and Martha were also side by side. All of them were anxiously looking around the room in the hopes of catching a glimpse of one of the gang. I could not afford to give them one. I was being ushered to a seat by more hooded figures.

The figure on the highest seat stood and silence swept the room. Removing his hood we could see it was Prince John.

"My friends" he began "tonight you have the privilege of being the first to give praise to your new King. Plans are in place and soon King Richard will be dead and the crown will come to me. I have secured Saracen allies in the Holy Land who will help sleigh my brother and ensure our places in history."

People were mumbling in anger. "Why would you trust Saracen scum?" One of them yelled. "They are the very ones we are fighting against."

"But why?" John continued. "The war there has nothing to do with England. It is another example of Richard and his bad leadership. He abandoned his own country to fight a war for what? Some land that means nothing to us. So I say, give them the land and they will give us what we want. The means to remove King Richard from power and have strong allies. You may be wondering why you should give me your support. The answer is because I care about each and everyone of you."

I was trying so hard not to laugh. He continued "Under your seats you will find a considerable sum and that is only the beginning of much more money to come. And as a bonus I have selected only the finest of slaves for your own personal delight. These are not slaves for your normal day to day jobs. What goes on in these halls, stays in these halls. I selected you men because of your reputations. Do with your slaves what you wish and remember, these walls let little sound out and even if they did, no one is around to hear it."

The men all laughed and began eagerly eyeing up their possibilities. I could see the way most of their minds were working and was disgusted. I was panicking, I needed a plan but had nothing. I could save one person but I couldn't leave all the others."

"Whose first?" John asked as they all excitedly waited.

The women were the ones who were picked first. I could see that Prince John was gesturing to other rooms where I caught brief glimpses of horrible looking equipment. It came to my turn. I got up as if to eye up the possibilities but I was just trying to buy time. I was shaking so hard that I lost my balance and accidentally knocked over one of the larger candlesticks. This hit one of the curtains which quickly lit up. I was amazed and quite delighted at my handy work. Everyone was quickly racing from the room and no one gave a second thought to the slaves. I did. Luckily the chains were easy to break and I had them free in seconds. I had two extra swords which I gave to Thomas and Keighley. Much was clearly insulted. The abandoned chambers were quickly alive with an enormous group of bumbling slaves as they wandered around like lost sheep, needing leadership. Still happy from my last victory, I happily took charge and yelled for everyone to follow me. We didn't meet guards until we were half way out of those chambers and they were clearly unprepared. Proving that slaves had brains, they all faked bravery and wore the most dangerous expression possible. So few guards against so few apparent warriors was deemed suicide and they pretended to have a task at some far away location. We made it the courtyard easily where they others could hardly believe that I had single-handedly saved all of them.

The joy changed when I told them of Prince John's plan.

"That's a problem for another day," Robin decided, observing his exhausted men. "Lets get back to camp."

About half way back we realised. "Thomas is missing," Benny said.

"I'll get him," I quickly said, wanting to witness whatever he did.

I saw him walk into the Tavern, without a disguise, walked straight up to the bar and waited for her. She left the people she was serving instantly and came over to him. He had been practicing good lines the whole journey over and once again they all raced from his mind when I saw her.

She was the one to break the silence. "Let's go talk outside."

So he followed her. Neither of them knew what to say.

"Alright," he began "I used to think I came here because of the ale and most of the time it was the ale but it was also for you. You are always here to listen to any mundane problem I have and tell me exactly what I have to do whether I like it or not. You always happy and it makes me happy when you're happy. So what I'm trying to say is that I love you. Those feelings aren't going to go away because I finally found out about your husband or your son and-"

She cut me off "Who said Rowan was my husband?"

"John told me."

"John doesn't know everything. We never got married. He didn't want to. Probably because he couldn't be bothered but we never made it public that we didn't get married. I didn't want them judging me. I would have done anything for him. But now I'm finally beginning to see what a horrible man he is. I saw it because I finally began to see the way a true gentlemen treats a lady, like how you treat me."

Take that Rowan. She continued "I left him. Oliver and I are staying here, upstairs."

He stopped her there. He had heard all that he needed to hear. He kissed her and finally realised all that time he had wasted. All the while I silently cheered him on.

"Now fetch me some ale women."


	36. A New Enemy Approaches

Chapter Thirty-six

20th May 1191

Love was definitely in the air. Thomas and Martha had finally admitted their love for each other. This was nice for the first few days but after a while we got sick of all their pet names for each other and their constant over use of affection. This inspired John and Amelia to fire up their love for one another. I think they were just trying to compete.

Lilly came up to Michael and I asking "do you fancy a gamble?"

"Depends on the subject."

"Which poor sod will end up with Keighley."

This was extremely amusing "you really don't like her do you?"

"It's not that" Lilly denied "it's just that she joins the gang, very insistent about how she is just as good as the men in all aspects and then she slowly pins them off against each other to get what she wants."

This was true. She had many strong ideas but she needed a majority of people to ensure that they got pushed through. She would use her femininity to get the men to see things her way. She would give them a special little smile or start touching their arms or speaking in some silly high voice or something along those lines to make the men melt. You would think that this would only work on the likes of Much but it swayed most of the young members.

"It wont be Much," I decided "she is clearly not interested. Some one should break it to the poor man."

"Maybe she'll put brother against brother and see if they'll fight to the death?" Lilly said.

"You make her sound so evil" Michael told her "good on you."

"Scatter," she told us "she's coming," and with that she darted off to clean something.

To Michael's surprise Keighley came and sat beside him.

"Talking about me?" she asked

"Never" he lied. "Don't you have some poor sod you should be seducing with your wicked ways to ensure you get your way."

"Are you still sore about the fact that my plan for the ambush on the North road was picked over your plan. If you need to make pathetic excuses to feel good about yourself then go ahead. Just know that your plan was terrible and mine got us one of the biggest hoards of the season."

"Mine would have worked too. You just bat your eyelids and they all bow toy our will. Admit it."

"Never" she said as she walked away, batting her eyelids all the while. Michael found he was laughing. He stopped instantly when he figured this out. He also found that he was wishing she stayed. He watched as she bean talking to Thomas, all the while admiring her features. Mainly that long black hair and those dark brown eyes. He felt funny. Michael never felt funny.

This was the horrible time when he realised that it must be jealousy as he saw her talking to another man.

The small amount of common sense left in him ordered that he stand and proceed in hitting his head into a nearby tree trunk. He obliged.

So now there was another one. Michael was now clearly smitten with her. I was getting sick of it.

Lilly and I witnessed Michael being the second to be seduced. Much being the first of course. He was practically her slave around camp. Anything she wanted, he was all to happy to get her. I thought Michael was smarter than that to fall so easily for her tricks and he was a lot more subtle about it than Much but we could still see it.

The next victim was Bryce, just as Lilly predicted. I don't think either of them were particularly attracted to the other. Bryce simply hated the fact that Much may end up with her. He enjoyed being the older brother who won at everything. I knew Keighley just enjoyed the drama. Bryce actually set out to seduce her. He tried to talk himself up with fake criticism saying "I can only lift this much firewood before I get tired" and of course it was a ridiculously high amount. He went on with "Then I had to fight Robin when I was already tired from the firewood but I still fought him for most of the afternoon. Robin was beginning to look worried."

Needless to say, he barley fought Robin. Dare I say, he was defeated almost instantly.

Keighley was all to happy to play along commenting "you look so tired. Come rest by me a while." They talked for a while about things that I didn't bother to listen. I did observe that she was stroking his muscles the whole time. Lilly and I also observed the looks on Much's and Michael's faces.

This didn't last long obviously. She grew bored.

Mark was next but this also wasn't a very big and romantic fling. It was expected that something would happen there, her being the kind of woman she was and him thinking that he was God's gift to women. One day he strutted up to her, thinking he would be the one doing the seducing.

"Do you think someone should tell him that he is not as handsome and charming as he thinks he is and women are generally afraid of him?" I asked Lilly.

"I say let him figure it out for himself."

He began by telling her "So I figure we've both had enough of this playing hard to get game and it's time we just get on with it."

She looked generally disgusted. "Get on with what?"

"The fact that you cant take your eyes off me."

"That's only because I'm wondering what poor thing must have happened to you as a child for you to end up with that face."

"That poor thing was the good fortune of being granted with this face while so many others are cursed with dare I say average looks and menial charm."

The siren was laughing. "I can't believe it" Lilly said as the she walked with Will and I around Sherwood. "Beware," she told them "you lot could be next."

"Please" Will scoffed. "Roger and I are far too smart too fall for her tricks."

The next day I watched as she neither of them could look away from her as she told them some mundane story. They laughed at almost every word she said despite how mundane they were. Lilly decided that enough is enough. "Will" she sweetly asked. "Could you please come and help me with something?"

"Not right now" he told her without looking away from the siren.

"Now" she yelled at him and dragged him by his ear much to the amusement of the other men.

"You've fallen for her haven't you?" she asked as he nursed his sore ear and his wounded pride.

"She was just telling a story" he said as he tried to defend himself. "Would you please not do that in front of them others? They already think I've gone soft without the help of my sister embarrassing me further."

"You're embarrassing yourself," she told him. "She's not even that pretty. She only looks it from the way the surroundings. If a group of men live with any single women for a long enough amount of time then the ugliest of women would seem attractive."

"Then why hasn't this happened to you?" he asked and instantly regretted it.

She turned and stormed off. "You know what?" he said as her ran after me "I think I finally understand why you hate her. You hate that all the men are giving her the attention that you never got." This only resulted in her storming off faster. And not speaking to him for many a day.

So I continued to watch her, all the while feeling slightly annoyed that she never turned her attention towards me.

"Its because you're always around me," Lilly explained. "Since she doesn't like me she never approaches you."

"Plus I glare at her whenever she tries approach me."

"Nice work."

I could see the situation was going to get worse when I saw her looking at Robin.

Warning bells were working overtime.

"She's been working her way up the ranks" I told Lilly and Amelia.

"The other men may be stupid enough to let her corrupt them but Robin certainly isn't" Amelia informed me and I agreed.

We were right too.

We watched closely when Keighley first approached Robin. He was sharpening his sword at the time.

"Hard at work?" was her opening line.

He nodded barley even acknowledging her. She was going to have her work cut out for her. "I just wanted to tell you that I thought the plan went really well today and I want to thank you for backing me up."

"You didn't need me to" he told her "You have most of the men here doing that for you."

She faked embarrassment. "I don't ask for their attention. I guess it's just that if any women lives with a group of men for a long enough amount of time she will appear beautiful to them."

"That was my line" Lilly angrily whispered, "I can't believe Will told her."

Amelia shushed me and we carried on listening.

"Don't sell yourself short. You are beautiful" Robin told her and we all scoffed in disgust. He hadn't looked at her yet so I like to believe that he was just being polite.

"There's still hope," I whispered.

"I have to go," Robin told her but quickly walked away before he had to think of an excuse. We were very close to cheering. Her face added to our victory. She was shocked.

From then on Robin was her goal. The other men were not important and they didn't like this, mainly Much. She was subtle about it, silently ensuring she ended up beside Robin on jobs and working a little bit harder to impress him.

One day she even approached Lilly and Amelia. "You've known Robin a while haven't you?" she asked as they nodded, barley acknowledging her question. I simply happened to be around at the time but was ignored as per usual.

"Well what's his story?" she asked. "He's so silent but at them same time so strong. Is he shy?" We laughed a great heal at that idea.

"He is most certainly not shy" Amelia explained. "He's just never taken an interest in most women."

"But why?" she asked. Amelia and Lilly shared a look that said we needed a story.

"He's just really focused on the poor and now the Princes big plot."

"I thought so. I think he needs someone to relieve him of that stress."

I was trying so hard not to laugh by this point. She really thought she had a chance. It was rather pathetic.

"You are wasting your time," I informed her, "why not choose one of the men you've already hooked with your trickery."

"Excuse me" she said as she stood up to her full height. I shrank back a little, she was very tall, taller then most of the men. I also knew she could fight and I was no competition. But I stood my ground, terrified all the while. Amelia quickly averted her eyes and preoccupied herself with pretending to clean something. Lilly however stood up to her full height, which unfortunately was nowhere near Keighley's and told her exactly what she thought.

"You come in here, pretending to be all about feminist power but then strut around getting all of them to do your bidding. Well we see right through you."

"Leave me out of this" Amelia whispered. I nodded in agreement but said nothing. I guess that means you can add Keighley to the rather long list of things that scare me.

"Admit it," Keighley said. "You're not angry at me, you're jealous of what I can do that you never could."

Lilly had nothing to say in form of defense. She turned and stormed off.

Keighley stormed in the opposite direction.

Amelia continued to clean as we both tried to hide the fact that we had seen the tears forming in her eyes. I watched her go and realised. "She hasn't really got any friends has she? The men all like her but they are more like slaves than friends. What if she wasn't trying to seduce them? What if she was just trying to get friends and went the wrong way about it. The men here don't really know how to deal with women." Amelia continued to say nothing but I could tell she agreed and also felt ashamed. Keighley hadn't approached us for information about Robin. It seemed that she just wished for conversation. And look what we had done.

Life was a lot more awkward in the fact that Lilly and Keighley were forced to share a cabin. As far as I was aware, they never said a word to each other.

Life continued. Weeks passed and thankfully, the romance seemed to die down.

In late April, the gang was again fully focused on Prince John's plot.

Robin called us all together to tell us "Prince John has been working on his plan for the past few months and we haven't done anything to stop it. We don't even know what his next step is. He is planning something big, that much we know. We need someone who can keep us updated on his actions."

"So you want one of us to spy?" Luke asked looking shocked. "He knows all of us."

"That's why we have to do the most terrible thing we've ever had to do" Robin said as everyone started to look scared. "We have to ask Annie for help." He practically spat out the last words. The rest of the men gasped in horror. All of the new members were very confused.

"Who is Annie?" Greg asked, wondering if I wanted to hear the reply.

"The devil" Much told him.

"Some one who would like nothing more to see us without our heads," Michael added.

"My sister" I concluded.

"Well if she's all those things then why would she help us?" Bryce asked.

"It's going to be hard," Robin explained. "That's why I'm not going. She definitely won't agree to help me. Allen on the other hand-"

"We share blood and nothing more," I said quickly. "She won't help me."

"You've got to try" Will said, ecstatic at my worry.

Apparently looked as if I was being sent to his execution as I gathered some weapons. This was probably a large understatement.

"Do you often pack this much to go visit your sister?" Mark asked me.

"I'm going to need more," I said.

He wasn't sure if I was joking.

I wasn't.

"So is she an ex-lover of yours Robin?" Keighley joked. It was only a partial joke. She was fishing for information.

The gang paused and suddenly all burst out in enormous fits of laughter.

"So is she ugly then?" Keighley asked.

"Not so much ugly as extremely ugly on the inside" Much explained as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "She thinks we're all scum and is not afraid to show it."

Greg was still very confused. "Why don't you just come with me?" I asked, "then you will understand."

He was scared but agreed. The look Keighley gave him made it clear that he was expected to spy and tell her everything he learnt.

"So why is everyone so scared of her" Greg asked.

I kept telling him "You'll understand when you meet her."

And he did. The looks she gave us erased any beauty she may have had. Greg was too scared to look at her after that and kept his eyes to the floor.

"I understand," he whispered to me.

"Get out," she barked at us.

"Ok," Greg said quickly and turned to run.

I stopped him. "We need your help."

"Well you're not getting it."

"Ok" Greg said again but once again I stopped him.

"Help us and we'll go," I told her.

She considered. "Will you never come back?"

"Hopefully."

"Well what do you want?"

"To know what Prince John is planning and what he has already done."

She was not happy. "You want me to spy? What if I get caught?"

I was bored "I will stay here until you agree. You can take Greg with you who will pretend to be your guard as no one will recognise him."

That got his attention. "Well come on then" she barked at him as she stormed down the hallway.

"You better follow," I told him.

She lead him to the guards quarters where he borrowed a uniform.

"Are you going to turn around" he asked her as he waited to get dressed. She sighed and mumbled about pathetic maiden needs but obliged.

"The plan is that I will say I'm going see the Prince so the guards will let us past. You can then look through his things, which I refuse to take part in. I am merely a means of getting you there. Is that clear?"

He was too scared to say anything so he just nodded. She led him down endless passages and he was lost in seconds. The rest of the gang say that eventually you start to remember things about the castle and you'll get lost a lot less but it was not happening for the poor man. Meanwhile, he liked to think he was getting braver. He no longer stared at the floor. He now stared at her shoes. They were nice shoes. They probably cost enough money to feed a family for a month. The shoe thing was not working well while walking as he started to trip. She got sick of this and stopped abruptly.

"Your cowardess was slightly amusing at the beginning but now it's driving me insane. Stop acting like a little girl and watch where you are going."

"Yes ma'am" he sputtered.

Eventually reached Prince John's chamber. "I'm here to see Prince John," She told the guard.

"Good" he said "the Prince is right through there."

This caught them both by surprise. "You said he is never in his room at this time of the day," Greg whispered.

"Actually" she said as they backed away "I don't want to bother him. I'm sure he is very busy and I'll come back later."

The guard reached out and stopped her. "He requested your presence. I assumed that was why you were here."

"It is," she said. "Well I guess that I'd better go in then."

This was the first time Greg had seen Prince John so close. He had obviously been in crowds when he rode around taking tax money and what not. This was the first time he could actually see how intimidating he was.

"You asked for me," Annie asked as she tried to figure out why she was here.

"I did" he said and paused as he watched the discomfort rise from her. "I consider myself to be a righteous man." Greg had to stifle his laughter. "I have cared for you for many years despite not even knowing how we're related."

"Sire, I am your late sister in law's niece."

"We are not even blood related and yet I care for you. You must be married. I have even taken the job of finding you a suitor." He gestured to a man they hadn't noticed before who had been standing to the side.

"You" she said angrily when she saw him.

"Hello again" he said cheerily.

"Sire if I may, this man is evidence that chivalry is no longer taught to nobles. I have met him before and he is rude and obnoxious."

"In other words she couldn't keep her eyes off me," the man said.

"I don't care. Let me reintroduce you. Annie meet Hadrian. He shall be your husband. You may go."

Needless to say Greg felt very out of place all the while. Not knowing where to look or what to do, he prayed for the situation to draw to an early close.

"I'll accompany you back to your room," Hadrian told her. She sighed and let him lead her out. Greg guessed that meant that he was to follow.

"You can go," she whispered to him. "We'll try again tomorrow."

"Are you alright?" he asked her. "Do you want me to knock him out and send him to France or something."

She actually gave him a smile. "I can handle him." The smile was gone as suddenly as it came. "Now go!"

He ran down the hallway but stopped when he heard that their footsteps had stopped too. He snuck back to check on her and to his surprise she was passionately kissing him.

After being sick of all of the endless confusion, he gave up on the entire situation and snuck away.

Informing the gang of his findings was difficult.

"Prince John was there so we are going to try again tomorrow," was the only thing he could think of to say.

It was a lot less scary, approaching her the second time. Knowing her secret meant that he had some power of her.

She opened her door excitedly this time. This excitement died when she saw it was Greg. "Oh it's you," she said, not trying to hide her disappointment. "I forgot we were doing the thing again."

"Were you too love struck" he asked. "Too excited about your up coming nuptials?"

"As if," she retorted. "That man is a jerk. I'm working on a loophole."

"Is your loop hole kissing him in the hallway?"

She turned suddenly and pushed him into the wall. He was shocked at how strong she actually was. "How dare you spy on me" she practically spat at him. The fear of her had returned.

"I wasn't spying I was making sure you were alright. And I didn't tell anyone."

She backed of a little and he began to breathe again. "This is where you could explain why you pretended that you didn't know him," he said.

"There's not much to tell. We met long ago but he hasn't got a lot of status so we couldn't just announce that we wished to be married. It had to be Prince John's idea. Prince John would only suggest it if he thought it would anger me. Can we please get this over with?"

They walked in silence. He didn't like silence.

"So how did you meet him," he asked.

"Why on earth should I tell you?"

"Well I am a storyteller. Well, I was before I joined the outlaws. But I shall continue the noble work soon. And if your story is good enough then I shall tell it to the world, with different character names if you so wish and all shall hear of your tale."

She stared him. "You are a strange man." She deemed fit to tell him regardless. "It was at a ball that I didn't want to go to. He was rude, that part is true. We were both heading for the main doorway and he leapt in front of me. I stopped him and nicely reminded him that it is expected that a Lord must remove himself and let a Lady pass first. He told me he believed in equal rights for all and that women should be given the same rights as men. We argued over this for some time and eventually he let me pass first. I waited for him to pass as well and we went for a lovely stroll. We talked all night which was lucky because the ball was very dull as I care not for such social gatherings. Not all balls of course. This one was rather bland."

She then continued her rant about the boredom of her social class as Greg desperately waited for her to pause for breath.

"Wow" he told her. "That is so cliché"

She didn't like this. "Excuse me?"

"I was a storyteller and that kind of thing happens in every story. A man meets a woman, they initially disagree on something but end up head over heels in love. Do you know why this keeps happening? Because people know this story so well that when it happens to them, they all assume that they are in love, just because they have to follow the cliché."

"Are you implying that I do not love my betrothed?"

"I'm suggesting that you do not know that you do not love your betrothed."

Amazingly he was not scared as she turned on him. "How dare you."

"Answer me honestly. Does your heart skip a beat when you see him? Do you catch your breath whenever he enters a room. Is he your first thought when you wake and your last before you go to sleep? Would you give your life for him?"

"And tell me," she asked "how do you know that is what love is? Have you ever been in love yourself. You hide behind your pathetic stories to disguise the fact that you have not yet lived yourself."

He shrugged "If I am happy then who can complain. And you didn't answer my question."

"Because they are stupid." She was excused from further questioning because they were drawing near the Prince's quarters. He wasn't there this time and they gained access. Greg was left to sort through his things. He found many letters but was too ashamed to tell the gang that he couldn't read. He just assumed that the he would benefit from stealing each and every one of them. He had not counted on how many there would be.

"What is taking so long?" Annie asked as she noticed him stopping.

"It's nothing," he tried to explain but she didn't believe him.

"I can't read," he finally told her. She didn't burst out laughing like he expected her too but calmly walked over and began to read the letters for him. He had never felt more useless.

"Well here is Prince John's next step," she told him. "In a weeks time some one is arriving from the Holy Land. It doesn't say anything more. Only his name; Terrowyn."

…..

_Esteemed words of the Sheriff of Nottingham_

_21__st__ May 1191_

_ Prince John could see that Hood's man was growing tired of his spy status, or rather that his conscience was taking charge._

_ This tends to happen to pathetic people. I pride myself on having no conscience. Or if I do, it is thoroughly silent._

_ "If you have nothing to tell us then leave," the Sheriff told him, angry at having his time wasted._

_ That inward battle was occurring again. Faithfulness to his master or faithfulness to revenge and money. I personally believe that revenge is no longer a controlling factor. That man is just as corrupt as the rest of us._

_ Eventually he told us, "Robin knows of your plan with Terrowyn. He is already working on intercepting him."_

_ "How did he find out?" John asked, getting angry at how he was always a step ahead._

_ "He got into your private quarters and found a letter."_

_John groaned to himself. "I have hired imbeciles. Sheriff, make sure the guards wont let anyone through again."_

_ I left with an evil smirk in anticipation of this job. The Prince threw a coin bag at the other man's feet. "Enjoy," he told him with a smirk. Corruption is rather fun I feel._

_ The plan was already forming in my head._

_ Hood will never see it coming._

_ I wont say any more here. As you know, I do not like to state my plans until they are successful for the chance that Hood intercepts them._

_ But I have a good feeling about this one._

_ Terrowyn is of upmost importance to the plan after all._

_ And he is coming._

_ All I can say is, it is about time._


	37. The Trouble with Torture

Chapter Thirty-Seven

3rd June 1191

The day came.

Everything was set.

Terrowyn was coming.

We knew nothing about him so the plan was risky. We all darted around the forest, everyone unsure of the jobs. All possible weapons were prepared and at the ready. So many different scenarios raced through everyone's heads in anticipation of the day to come. It just went to show what occurs without a plan.

There was silence when the sound of the carriage approaching came.

As promised there were many guards but they looked as useless as normal. Numbers however, still proved to be intimidating.

A last final prayer was said as the party approached.

The men in front of the group stepped onto the trap as planned. Instantly they fell into the deep hole we had prepared. Deepness ensured for secureness in their capture as well as a fair amount of broken bones, ensuring that they wouldn't try. More men were trapped than the amount we planned but no one was complaining. Guards at the rear were quickly out of the problem as John and Roger pulling their respective ends of rope that had been hidden across the path which flung the men backwards where Bryce and Will were ready with their weapon of choice to easily knock them down. The rest of us charged for the middle.

Something was wrong. They didn't run. Guards always ran, enforcing their cowardess. They didn't even draw their weapons but calmly awaited our arrival. Then in perfect unison they removed their helmets.

"Saracens?" Much said as we all stared in shock. We were all expecting bumbling English men. The ones in front easily leapt out of the trap. The ones from behind had been trained to withstand pain and also rose.

We were officially outnumbered and out skilled. We all looked to Robin for guidance and all we given was the act of him drawing his sword. "Of course we're going to fight them" Much said in disbelief.

Then we were in combat. They fought like no one I had seen before. They were vicious and ready to kill us. Not only were they skilled but they were also organised. Using numbers to their advantage, they teamed up and used thought out combinations to trap us. Needless to say, we were not the type of outlaws who planned. Their moves clearly displayed training whereas many of us were known for simply hoping for the best. Then there was the first bloodshed. Keighley felt the full impact as her unprepared thrust had left her vulnerable. The only thing that saved her from instant death was a desperate dodge that moved the swords resting place from her stomach to her shoulder. She had never been stabbed before and was unprepared for the excruciating pain that followed. The man who had stabbed her smirked as he expected her to fall. She wasn't going to. Lunging forward, she stabbed him in the side. It wasn't enough to kill him but he did fall to the ground. Looked around in surprise, I saw we were winning. They may have had skill on their side, but they had not counted on our desperate need to succeed. It was just another fight to them. If they died, they died. We had too much to live for. And people often underestimate the power of blindly waving ones sword aimlessly about. Training can only get you so far. Fear brings out a lot in a man. And trust me, we had enough of that.

Robin threw open the carriage door and pulled the man out.

Finally we looked upon Terrowyn.

No sign of fear was about him. What surprised us was how English he appeared. Everything about him reminded us of English qualities rather then the extreme Saracen we had been expecting. We didn't let this phase us.

"You're going to answer a few questions for us" Robin told him and he smirked in response.

Keighley blacked out from the loss of blood at that point. When she awoke she was back at camp and Much was standing over her.

"Easy" he told her as she tried to jump up.

"Did we get him?" she asked as she tried to remember what had happened.

Much nodded "They're interrogating him. It's not pretty. Your delicate eyes couldn't handle it."

"For the last time Much, I am not delicate," she yelled. "I've had enough of you constantly belittling me and always being around. I don't want you! Do you hear me?"

He looked a little lost at that. He mumbled something about having to go and ran off. She wasn't sorry. It was true, She was sick of him always being around and was sick of trying to subtly tell him to leave her alone.

She could picture all their faces. Most of the gang would be silently thanking the Lord that someone was out of the running. Everyone but the one she wanted.

She was prepared to do the same thing to any other man who tried to burst his way in.

Lilly entered but Keighley couldn't yell at her, as it was her room too. There were limited cabins and it made sense to put the two single girls together. They barley spoke a word to each other. Today however Keighley had to know what was going on. "So what's been happening?"

She looked pained at the thought of having to answer but Lilly did anyway. "He's not saying anything. They're just starting the torture but he's strong."

Obviously he wasn't that strong. Soon after she left Keighley heard him screaming. But the fact that it went on showed that he wasn't breaking. She imagined Will would be doing the torturing. He did request it when he first knew of the plan. He would be imagining that Terrowyn was the Sheriff. Roger would be helping as they were the only two men who had the stomach for this kind of thing. Robin would be there but as he was thoroughly against torture, he would not participate. Majority rules as everyone else had demanded that they gain information, in any way possible. Thomas and Mark would have excused themselves to the tavern. They were to weak to handle that kind of thing. John looked to be the type who would be happily yielding the weapons but Keighley knew that he was secretly a soft and peaceful man. He pretended to comfort Amelia while secretly separating himself the act. She don't know what Luke would be doing, he never seemed to be around. The other men would be separating themselves too. She didn't know about me either. I didn't know either. I wanted to seem strong and helpful but at the same time I wanted to run.

Keighley could hear someone coming and wasn't happy about it. That is until Robin came in. "I hear you made quite an impression on Much" he said, rather amused. "I must request that you don't terrify my men."

"Is that why I'm not getting any visitors?" she said, pretending to be amused. To be honest she was rather annoyed. "Why are you here?" she asked. "Aren't you terrified that I'll seduce you?"

He laughed. "I just wanted to make sure you're ok. Pete had to go to another patient but he said you were only grazed. I hope you don't think that you're dying and none of us care."

"I was hoping for a bit more of a response" she joked. "I did gather that I would live to see Terrowyn crack."

"Well he's not making it easy" he told her.

She smiled a special smile at him, the kind that made his men melt. "I'm sure you can do it."

He gave her a polite smile and turned to leave. She had finally reached the end of her tether.

"Ok enough of this" she told him. "I have been trying to get your attention everyway I know how for almost the whole time I've been here. I've played every trick I know. I've been adorable, I've been secretive, I've been trying to make you jealous by being around your men."

"That I noticed," he said. "It wasn't exactly subtle."

"But you are too blind to pay me even a slight amount of attention which is all I wanted."

"Sorry," he said and walked out. That was all he had to say.

She was furious meanwhile and had had enough of lying in that room. She got slowly out of bed and found that walking wasn't as painful as expected. She walked out to find her previous guess was correct. Will and Roger were standing over Terrowyn demanding he tell them his secrets. Robin was standing on the side looking extremely uncomfortable. The other men were either absent or standing as far away as possible. Terrowyn looked tired but not defeated. Keighley was no longer in the mood for this to be dragged out any longer.

"Get out of the way" she told Will as she stood in front of Terrowyn. "This is your last chance. Tell us everything you know."

He actually looked amused at the thought of being scared of a woman. He said nothing.

"Right" she said and saw the weapon the had been using. By placing a sword in the fire it grew hot, hot enough to deeply burn a man at the slightest touch. Will would have been using the slightest touch. Keighley wouldn't. She grabbed the sword by the handle and felt her hands burning slightly. The handle hadn't even been in the fire and still it was hot enough scolding her, She knew the hilt would be a hell of a lot worse. "You've had your chance," she told him as she dug the sword into his shoulder. His screams even made Will cringe and avert his eyes. Keighley wasn't going to be that weak. She held his gaze and watched as the tears of pain escaped.

"Keighley" Robin told him. "That's enough. His death will grant us nothing."

"Which would explain why you've still got nothing out of him."

She turned back to Terrowyn. "Are you going to tell my anything?"

He spat in her face. She stabbed him again, in the leg this time. He screamed harder.

"Enough" he yelled. "I'm not Terrowyn."

She groaned at his pathetic lie. "Don't think you're getting out that easy." But she noticed that he had easily dropped his Saracen accent. "I'm English," he yelled.

Robin quickly walked forward and stood in front of the man. "Well tell us everything you know," he told him.

"Only if she leaves" the man said, pointing at me.

All the events of the past day built up and Keighley was thrilled to storm away as fast as she could.

The final straw it seemed had been torturing an innocent man.

….

_The esteemed words of the Sheriff of Nottingham_

_3rd June 1191_

_ "Welcome to England" Prince John told Terrowyn as he leapt from his horse. "The plan was successful then?"_

_ "Except for one minor detail" he said, removing his hand so show blood. "Some stupid whore stabbed me in the attack."_

_ "I did say you should come separately. Hood fights well, it would have been smarter to ride after rather than disguise yourself."_

_ "On the contrary. I wanted to see Hood for myself, learn of his tactics first hand. He shall be easy to remove. Now I wish to rest. I'll need one of your best physicians in my room immediately. Did you get my message about that? I sent a man ahead to tell you."_

_ "Yes I sent for him straight away. He was on some other job but I insisted that Pete come to you immediately. He is waiting in your room"_

_ He followed the guard into the castle. Prince John turned me asking, "so who did you send in his place?"_

_ He smirked at me "do you remember that guard who let Hood and his men into your quarters. You told me to ensure he never did it again. I did."_

_ Our dark smiles mirrored the other as another job was completed just as we planned._

_ Let the next plan commence._


	38. Hard Times Make a Return

Chapter Thirty-Eight

3rd June 1991

We didn't know if we could trust the man or not. Robin sent Luke to Nottingham to check and until then he didn't know what to do with him.

If he was telling the truth then we had done horrid things to a completely innocent man. If he was lying then he deserved all the pain he was in. Luckily Amelia stepped in saying, "no human deserves this pain, no matter what he may or may not have done." She didn't have any medical training but she untied him and began cleaning his wounds. Keighley had stormed off in a rage and Robin didn't know if he should follow her.

John saw his face and took him to the side. "Are you going to follow her?" he asked.

"I have no idea," Robin told him, praying he would tell me.

"Well I can't tell you," he said. "But I do know that you can't live your life in the past. You've been living your life for England and eventually it's going to be much and you are going to snap. You have to start being around people again. That doesn't necessarily mean Keighley but you have to stop ignoring the people around you."

Robin was done thinking and went after Keighley ignoring the evil looks a few of the closer men gave him. There was a desperate attempt to hide her tears when she saw him and proceeded to glare instead.

"I'm sorry" he began but was interrupted by her disgusted scoff. "Alright, I deserved that," he continued "I know I've been distant and I'm sorry but I have a complicated past and I am working on getting past it. I am very messed up, trust me you have no idea how messed up I am." he then embarrassingly prattled on for a while about how messed up he was and lost count of all the times he said messed up.

"Robin" she finally interrupted "is this going somewhere?"

"I'm just trying to say that I did notice you trying to make me notice you and that I didn't know what to do about it. I know now."

And then I kissed her.

She smiled and he assumed this meant she wasn't angry anymore. The more confusing aspect was how he was not exactly happy himself.

After hearing Luke calling his name, Robin quickly turned back to camp. She held his hand as we walked back. It felt strange but he plastered on a smile.

The men didn't know what to say when they saw the handholding. Most looked furious.

"He is telling the truth," Luke said "Prince John is ecstatic over his plan having worked."

All attention went to the man lying in agony.

"Go apologize" Roger whispered to Will "you did most of it.

"You did just as much," Will whispered back.

"I'll go" Robin said and walked off.

"I'll come" Keighley said, practically skipping beside him. He tried to ignore all the raising eyebrows and disapproving looks.

The man flinched when Robin knelt beside him; Keighley was wise enough to keep her distance.

The man spoke instead, telling Robin "The Sheriff said that it was me or my family."

Robin nodded and said, "we are going to take care of you and them." The man seemed to relax a little at that. "We're all so sorry" Robin told him and he nodded. "I'll make arrangements for us to get you back to your family."

It didn't feel like enough. We returned him home with a considerable amount of money but we still felt guilty.

"Stop blaming yourself," Keighley told Robin. "There was nothing you could have done."

The slight feeling of comfort her words brought were overruled by the continuous glares from the men. She saw them too but just smiled them off.

"You gave me bad advice," Robin whispered to John. "Now they all hate me."

"I never told you to become involved with Keighley" he replied. "I just said start socializing more. I meant that you should just start talking to everyone in the gang again."

"Well why couldn't you have made that clearer at the time" Robin growled.

"People can take my advice any way they like."

"Well if this goes badly remember that it was through your actions that she joined the gang."

He groaned. "I knew this would come back to haunt me."

Pulling Robin to the side, I tried to give him a talk which would bring him back to reality. This was a talk that Robin would much rather avoid.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Concerning?" he asked, playing dumb.

"You know what I'm getting at."

He continued to play dumb. "Actually I don't."

"Well, how about how you are about to cause a civil war around camp and losing the respect of your men all for a woman."

"I've done a lot worse."

"But with those times we knew you were acting stupidly for a purpose. You don't love Keighley. I don't think you even like her that much. Here is what I think. I think you felt guilty when Keighley admitted she had feelings for you and rather then tell her the truth you are avoiding it. I think you secretly enjoy the drama having had nothing to do since, well, for the past say six months and you want to go back to those times where you enjoyed fighting for something other than England. I also think you're just trying to spite people which is strange because said people are not around to even know that they are being spited. And Keighley's tricks worked on you just as they worked on every man here."

"Including you?" he asked, finally understanding the reason for this talk. "Are you basing your findings on me or are you just looking for a reason to have your own chance with her?"

"I am too smart for her and would never fall for said tricks."

"Look Allen, I appreciate that you care, for whatever reason that you do, but it's my business and I hope everyone else will be grown up enough to accept this."

They wouldn't

The hard times were finally returning.

I did not miss them in the slightest.

But then again, camp was getting a little too quiet.


	39. Beginning of the Romantic Bloodbath

Chapter thirty-nine

17th August 1191

I was right that Robin was losing respect. This is no surprise of course; I am always right.

But this victory was dark. On one hand, it was a rather hollow one. No kind man enjoys watching their friend become isolated for a woman that he obviously cares little for. But then again, maybe I am not as good as I make out. Because on the other hand, it was rather enjoyable to see Robin receive comeuppance for his sins.

The Merry Men were many things. Now, it seemed that they could add executioners to the list. I obviously do not mean this in the figurative sense, although their were times when he deserved a lot more. But the gang did prove superb in the subtle punishment of their leader. Small acts eventually grew until their opinions on the subject were blatantly obvious.

Robin did his best to live life as he previously would have. But it was clear that his leadership was about to be tested. Orders were given as normal, but the reactions were greatly differed. Generally, ignoring his words seemed the favored policy. On the off chance that Robin was not ignored, he would be bombarded with questions which tore apart every minor aspect of the plan. Now I can well and truly say that there was not one detail that was wrong about Robin's plans. But I can also well and truly say that the gang cared not for such logic.

John would look uncomfortable at these times and deny that he had anything to do in Robin's decision. I would look smug at the memory of the act where my warning was ignored. Everyone else would simply remain looking annoyed.

Despite all this, Robin found that it was nice having someone around camp to kiss whenever he liked. I think Thomas and Martha grew slightly angry at the act of being overshadowed because they certainly stepped up their game. Keighley was only too happy to compete and Robin, being a typical male, could never say no to so much added affection.

John would Amelia never bother with such immature games. Personally I believe that this is due to such comfort in their relationship that came from years of stability. There was no need to compete with others as they knew their love was the strongest. What did it matter if others did not know this? They knew, and that was all that mattered. Wish others would pay attention to this lesson. It isn't fair to decide from this that Martha and Thomas were immature however. I still believe that their love is strong. But they are slightly younger than John and Amelia and public opinion is still a large factor in their lives. And after all, they were overly affectionate long before Robin and Keighley.

Two months dragged past. Apparently this landmark was cause to celebrate for Robin and Keighley as they snuck away from camp.

Keighley happily rambled on about the positive points of their relationship. The only one that Robin paid attention to was, "and thank goodness, Much barley talks anymore." Rather then this making Robin feel happy, he only felt more guilt. The gang also didn't celebrate this fact as would be expected. The glares only increased whenever Much raised his head to complain about anything and then changed his mind to sink back down in sorrow. The silence around camp was practically deafening so Robin relished in the chance to just be with Keighley without everyone judging them.

"Do you ever feel guilty," he asked her.

"Are you implying that I gave those men cause to think there was a need to get jealous?" she asked, getting angry. It did not take much to do that.

"So I guess that is a no?" he asked, refusing to answer.

"Why did this suddenly come up now?" she asked.

"Why are we both asking so many questions?"

"Why do you ask about questions with a question?" she tried to reply but by they were laughing too hard to continue.

When they finally returned, most of the men all bounded forward to bombard Robin with scraps of information all at once. He wasn't sure that he wanted to know. After all, he had heard Gisbourne's name mentioned many times.

"Much" Robin said, hinting for his special whistle to make them all silent which he did so, begrudgingly Bat least he did it.

"Alright, give me a moment," he said as they all nursed his ears. "Greg, tell me what happened." The others groaned as Greg swelled up in pride at being selected to tell the exciting events of the afternoon.

"We were watching the North road like you said when Gisbourne was coming down with a few guards and a carriage. Luke saw him and went a little crazy. We were thinking of a plan when he ran off to meet Gisbourne. To be honest we all kind of forgot he was there; he is far too silent nowadays. Anyway we had to follow him. Gisbourne was amused by this which only made Luke all the angrier. He demanded that Gisbourne come down and fight him, which Gisbourne was a little surprised about and said, "why should I waste my time fighting you?"

"Luke's anger grew as he told him "you killed my brother" and Gisbourne, the git, couldn't even remember who Matthew was. Or he was pretending to so Luke would continue the apparent humiliation. Gisbourne finally dismounted to fight but we all know Luke isn't the best amongst us with a sword and when anyone gets angry they don't fight as well as they could with a clear head on their side. So in other words, Gisbourne was clearly winning. We decided to interfere and managed to get Gisbourne at knifepoint but not before he had knocked Luke out, poor bugger. So we started going through his things and guess what we found in the carriage?"

"A woman."

"John told her "Cooperate or we'll kill Gisbourne" and she said, "do it. See if I care." Based on the fact that she hated Gisbourne everyone decided that they liked her and we began a bit of friendly conversation."

"I want to tell this bit" Michael interrupted, getting very excited. "It turns out that Juliana, that's her name, left Gisbourne at the alter! He sure has a habit of that happening doesn't he?"

"Gisbourne was engaged twice?" Keighley asked amazed. She had seen him around Locksley and thought that any good looks he possessed were easily overruled by his cruelty.

"Their marriage was arranged a long time ago but he was really happy with the arrangement. She backed out at the last second and he was pretty darn furious. After the wedding they still lived in the same town and apparently he was a real git, constantly threatening her and being rude and all those normal Gisbourne qualities. She told him to get out of her life because she hated him and he said he hated her just as much and they parted on bad terms. Now she is in England for Prince John's big ball which she says is a meeting for something to do with a big scheme from Prince John."

"To take over England?" Robin asked. They nodded. "What else did she say?"

"She told us where she staying and offered her assistance."

"It's a bit strange that she offered to help us isn't it?" Keighley asked.

"She says that she is always willing to help out people who share her feelings for Giz." I said.

Keighley didn't look happy. I think it was due to the fact that she was no longer the sole women around that got the men excited.

"She requested that we go see her tonight" Mark said with a funny look in his eye. "It seems I made quite an impression.

Roger was only too happy to burst his bubble. "After you walked off she specifically asked you don't come Mark." Everyone nodded to show their agreement. "She also said she didn't want too many to draw attention." I said. "So I guess it's just you and me Robin."

Everyone groaned. "Why you?" Bryce asked indignantly.

"Because I was the only one who bothered to listen to her instructions on how to get there genius. Or can any of you repeat back her exact words?" There was silence. "Exactly" I continued "and obviously Robin has to go. He is the leader."

I heard Keighley asking Greg "was she beautiful?" Greg replied "would the men be acting this excited if she wasn't?"

…

He wasn't lying. She was beautiful but in a very modified way. It was obvious that hours had been spent on her long dark hair and I didn't want to imagine the things that she would have put on her face.

"What a pleasant surprise" she said with an obviously fake French accent. She looked us up and down in an oddly predatorily way.

He did a small mock bow in greeting. "I hear you have information about Prince John"

"Please. I never begin with business. You haven't even introduced yourself"

"I am Robin Hood," he said as she offered him her hand.

"You live up the stories."

I jumped in "I'm Allen, just in case you forgot."

She gave me a smile and beckoned us inside. We were offered a drink but we declined, remembering an experience when we was first outlawed that had taught us to never accept drinks from people unless I knew I could trust them. And even then it was a good idea to decline.

"Well, there is going to be a big ball, that much I know. My father own quite a bit of Land in France and Prince John is still trying to gain allies. I'm not sure exactly of what is going to happen but Father is being very secretive about the whole thing."

The trip proved to be a waste of time. She gifted us with countless snippets of countless people of court that we cared nothing about but otherwise she appeared to know nothing. We thanked her politely and headed for the exit at the first chance we were given.

Interestingly enough, I found that I could not possibly tear myself from her forlorn expression and stopped to enquire about her problems. "Well the ball isn't for another week and until then I'm doomed to sit in this room with no company but my own."

Robin knew that I was going to do it and could do nothing to stop me. "Why don't you come back with us?" I asked

"I thought you would never ask."

That cheeky smile of hers meant trouble, but neither Robin or I acknowledged it.

…

The men were delighted the have another women around and demanded that we bring out all the best ale which of course Thomas and Mark were very excited about. Keighley looked upset over how pretty Juliana was and stayed back from the celebration as much as she dared. Every one else was happily swigging back ale and dancing around the bonfire, Robin included. It was nice for him to be back in the gang's good books, even for one night. And even if that night was probably due to how much they had drunk.

Robin was not used to nights of endless dancing as he collapsed to the side with constant panting. It took far longer than normal for him to regain a sitting position. All the while, he damned the trees for moving about in such a manner, never thinking back to the amount he had just consumed. Juliana came beside him laughing at his exhaustion. "You're clearly not cut out for this are you?" She herself was extraordinarily alert after matching him drink for drink. It seemed that she must be more adept to such a night.

"It's amazing," he panted. "I've run and fought for much longer then this with an inch of exhaustion. I guess you are right. This life of dancing is not made for the likes of me."

"I always am," she told him. Her voice was suddenly extremely captivating to Robin.

He finally noticed how close they were and how pretty she looked in the firelight.

He forgot everyone around us and kissed her. When he finally pulled away he saw Keighley's shocked face before she turned and stormed off. He jumped up to follow her. "Don't bother" Juliana told him, "Stay here." He was clearly torn but his better qualities won over as he followed Keighley. He was always far too honorable for his won good.

When he was a considerable distance away, he tried to ignore the gang cheering at the humiliation.

The whole walk over was spent by the poor man wondering what to say. And whether or not he should bother apologising. He liked to blame the drink for his lack of caring towards Keighley but once again, it was just what I had seen long ago.

Sadly, his need to be loved won over as he deemed fit to approach her.

I know not what he said to her and nor do I care. He always had the power of words and could win over almost anyone with his persistence.

What interest me was the events of later on in the week.

It was another late night and I had lost Robin during a castle raid. I never worried when this happened. Another of his great powers was the ability to get out of any unfavorable situation unscathed. So I simply returned to camp, had a quick bite to eat and went straight to bed.

Robin had quite a different night to say the least.

It was still rather early by outlaw standards, keeping in mind that we function at night rather than conforming to the normal time of sunlight. So Robin felt no need to return to camp. Instead, he decided to visit Juliana.

Once again, I do not know the specifics of what occurred that night, nor do I want to know. But Robin did not return till the early hours of sunrise.

This occurred again the next night.

And the night following.

And so forth.

He may be my best friend, but I do not always approve of his actions.

Keighley had no idea obviously. And I doubted that she would for a while. No one could become England's Greatest Outlaw without learning a trick or two about subtlety.

Now it seemed those powers were no longer used for good. I exaggerate obviously. No one need judge Robin for his actions of current. The poor man has gained rather warped views on relationships. And I pray that one day he sees the light.

Till then, sit back and enjoy the bloodbath that is bound to follow.


	40. The First Clue

Chapter Forty

11th October 1191

Picture if you will, the grandest sight possible. Then double it, for that would be the equivalent of Nottingham's ballroom on the night of Prince John's grand plan. Having grown up in the palace, I was used to splendor. Yet even I experienced slight lose of breath upon seeing the beauty. It was obvious that someone was meant to be impressed. The question was, who?

To arrange such a spectacular sight would have taken countless hours on the part of the servants. But it certainly paid of as everything, down to the last previously dull cornerstone practically shone. Never before had I seen so many colours in one place what with the elaborate flower arrangements, rare food assortments and extraordinarily expensive clothing shown by each Norman. The majority of those present knew nothing of the nights true meaning. But far be it from a Norman to pass an opportunity to show off their wealth. Having been raised around similar sights, I recovered quickly. There were a few Merry Men who were unable to close their mouths until halfway through the night from the shock of it all. After recovery, there came revenge. Will was the main persecutor and took great pleasure in spilling platters over any clean and expensive surface to get back at Normans in any small way possible.

It seemed that the night was also another opportunity to demean Saxons. True, I was bias. But I have standards of how I like my appearance to be. This did not include the hideous servant costume I was forced to wear. I will not bore you with the details but just know, whoever arranged that attire has more cause to be outlawed than we ever did.

Another aspect of my torture was the great weight I was forced to bear. Admittedly, yes it was a simple tray of goblets filled with wine. But this quickly creates agony in the one arm that is forced to hold all of the pain. To succeed at this job, one had to possess balance as well as strength while expertly maneuvering around the room, I had to ensure that none of the liquid spilled while keeping my arm steady under the impending weight For a split moment, I respected Thomas and Mark after seeing them easily whisk their trays about the ballroom with no sign of pain. Then I remembered who I was dealing with and noted that the majority of their goblets had been emptied. Obviously, Normans were not the ones responsible for this. Their large grins had broadened over the night and each step seemed a little sloppier than previous. My knowing glare seemed to stop this for a short while but it wasn't long before they were far more drunk than any Norman present. The sneaky pair had obviously not been placed on wine duty but they had found a way. I think I recall Will and Roger leaping at the chance to avoid this agony as they happily switched tasks.

Robin was too busy to notice his plans being changed. He had been placed at Juliana's Fathers personal guard to ensure that he was close to any action that deemed to happen. The Lord had no idea obviously. It was easy to see where the daughter had gained her cunning from. There was still something about the both of them that I did not trust.

Juliana herself did not grace the party with her presence until a great way into the night. She was one of those people who would wait as long s she dared to ensure that there were more people to look at her in awe. This did not work. It seemed that Lilly's previous idea was right about her beauty being amplified by lack of competition. On that night she was simply one of the crowd and countless Norman beauties stole many an admirer. Keighley was thrilled at how many Merry Men were uninterested in Juliana, including Robin himself. This could be due to his dedication to the mission and how he always went into complete concentration when necessary. But there were those, myself included, who believed that he tired of that exhausting lifestyle.

But back on with the mission, there was nothing much to report. But in all fairness, we did not know what we were searching for. Focusing on the positives, we have successfully hidden every Merry Man in the ballroom, along with reinforcements for added support. Reinforcements were really Amelia, Lilly and Martha but we needed every able person we could for their eyes and their ears as we desperately attempted to learn of the big plot.

And we had absolutely nothing to show for our efforts.

Taking a break from failure, I leant against one of the smaller doors. "My arm may just be dead," I moaned.

An eye appeared behind a small crack in the wood. This moved to a larger crack which allowed to me to see a little more of Little John's face. "If you dare moan one more word I will abandon the mission, leave this hiding place and show you what real pain is." He spoke softly so as not so be seen but his tone was still terrifying There was nothing that could scare me more than the likes of someone like John caged and unable to join in the action that he so craved. It was no fault of his that he was restricted behind that door. His size helped us in countless way but recognition was definitively one of the positives. This plan seemed full proof. We had him close enough in case of danger while keeping him away from the public eye. John did not see it that way. Just standing there was killing him. "So has anything happened yet?" he asked, anxious to be part of anything.

"There is no way to know. Prince John has been talking to a lot of people and there is no way we can keep track. But we have noticed that they aren't all Lords. I remember plenty of the main Norman Lords. Many of the men he has shown attention to are unknowns. Something about them just isn't right. They have no knowledge of how to wear such finery, leading me to believe that they are new to riches. So what use are they to Prince John?"

John was silent, proving my theory of his use to the gang being little more than brawn. Dare I say, he could read minds as his face darkened at my thoughts. Needless to say I ran off rather quickly, despite the pain in my arm.

Still, nothing happened.

Honestly, it worried us. There was no trend amongst the favored few who were honoured with Prince John's presence. I finally understood the purpose of the ball. It was an excuse to socialize with his intended peers without drawing attention to them. Enemies such as us would be distracted by the grandeur and rob as we always had rather than focusing on the intended problem.

He underestimated us.

Momentary comic relief was always available from Juliana and Keighley. Juliana had finally seen how uninterested Robin was in her and she did all she could to regain this. Keighley on the other hand would promptly drag him away the second anything occurred to her disliking. To be honest, it all appeared rather childlike. Robin clearly shared these views and angrily excused himself from the pair under the guise of needed focus for the mission. Their failure was extremely entertaining.

Eventually we learnt the most minute of details. Bryce had been lucky enough to be disguised as a Noble. Please take note of the availability of his arms. He had no need to carry around that God forsaken tray. Anyway, he had tried multiple times to sneak after Lords as they had been lead away by Prince John's personal men to no avail. One sharp glare from their leader and he had quickly fled back to the ballroom. He decided that his main problem was the lack of reason he had for being away from such an event. Finally there was cause for one of our reinforcements. Lilly was all too happy to commandeer a dress from a noble and pretend to have had a deep love for wine. No one dares question an emotional woman and she took great enjoyment in crying hysterically as loud as she could muster. Bryce had to drag her from the room as she was enjoying the show so much. The head guard just gave him an understand look of sympathy as he watched them go past. Once clear, it was simple to follow. Until they met the next set of guards. From around the corner, they watched as certain seals were displayed to these guards to grant access to whatever was hidden in that room.

So yes, we had learnt a small detail. This was still a small victory, even if it was nothing more than the room in which the secrets occurred in.

One thing was certain, we were learning nothing by simply standing around waiting.

"Can you remember the way?" Robin asked Bryce who nodded. Instructions were instantly given "Luke, you need to get John and meet us in the courtyard as soon as possible. Much you go around and grab the rest of the men who were too blind and or drunk to notice that we are leaving. Great thanks to the reinforcements but now you must remain here where it is safe. The rest of you, come with me. We have to storm that room."

We cheered as loudly as we dared. The spying life was clearly not for us as we grew tired of the lack of activity. This was far more what we were used to.

Sadly, we never reached the room.

We were forced to wait in the courtyard as the others took their time to rejoin us. Far be it from them to realise when something is of pressing importance. But we would never dare to try storm the smallest of targets without John by our sides. No doubt Much would be failing miserably at trying to round up Thomas and Mark. Those two became oddly playful after two many drinks and would have no intention of leaving such a festive place. Afterwards, I heard how they enjoyed running in opposite directions and hiding from poor Much who was left with all of the amused and disgusted looks from many an uptight Norman. I also learnt later that John had fallen asleep at his post and as we all know, it is near impossible to wake John when he in slumber.

So we all waited. But not for long as company soon came.

This was not the company any of us desired.

Gisbourne always knew how to pick the worst time possible. It was obvious that trouble was bound to follow.

I was instantly at Robin's side. "Come on. He's not worth it."

Robin wasn't going anywhere. He stormed out to met Gisbourne, sword in hand.

"Hood" Gisbourne exclaimed with mock excitement. "It's been too long. Actually it hasn't been in long enough. My my, it's almost been a year hasn't it? Well ten months actually. Ten months since she left you?"

"She left you too" Robin growled.

"But I did something about it" Gisbourne replied and looked like he was going to say more but Robin lunged forward and attacked. Greg, Keighley and Bryce had never seen two men fight more ferociously. It was clear that this was utter hatred. Both were extremely skilled and the fight was very intriguing. When Greg finally pulled his eyes away he noticed that most of the other men weren't as intruded as he was. In reply to his startled expression Michael explained, "they do this quite often. They'll get close to killing each other but they always get away." Greg wanted to ask more but it didn't seem the time. The fight didn't look like it was ending anytime soon. As per usual there was no clear leader. From all of the previous fighting, they had learnt each others best moves and had practiced ways of avoiding them. Their fights had become practically choreographed and without realising they were just going through the motions.

Finally they both stopped to catch their breaths.

"You sent her away. You knew you couldn't have her." Robin told him

"You think I wanted to?" Gisbourne asked. "If you hadn't interfered we could have been happy."

Robin laughed, regardless of his panting. Gisbourne didn't like this and punched Robin hard obviously disregarding the unofficial break that had been called. Robin ignored the blood running from his nose and punched Gisbourne straight back. Swords were forgotten and their new weapon of choice was fists.

The others finally arrived and Luke was clearly ready to leap into the fight. Gisbourne saw this and knew he could not possibly fight two people who hated him and fled. Robin meanwhile was too tried to pursue him and John restrained Luke.

"What was all that about?" Keighley asked as she tried to stop the blood from Robin's nose.

"We are both in love with the same woman," he told her bluntly.

She sprung back as if he had hit her. No one said anything more.

The silence was practically agonising.

"Didn't we have to go and see what Prince John was planning?" Greg asked. But it was too late. By the time we reached the room everyone was leaving.

Defeated, we began to leave knowing that we had completely wasted this night of opportunity.

"I always knew you were all useless," one of the Lords yelled at us. We all quickly grabbed our swords ready to attack. Something about this Lord seemed familiar. Finally we recognized our friend.

It was none other than Ben.

It was through no fault of our own that we had not recognised him. All through that year, we had seen him as practically a child. He returned with a rather impressive beard, while being a few inches taller and broader in general.

He was quickly overrun by all original gang members with words of welcome and embraces that he clearly did not wish for.

The four new members stood back a little, still very confused.

"When did you become a Lord?" Will asked.

"Well as you know I went to Kirklees Abbey hoping to take holy orders but frankly, I got bored. One day as I was about to come back to you lot, Brother Aiden asked me to deliver a message to Sir Ulric of Bonchurch and while I was there I overheard some pretty dark talk about King Richard and the Hold Land so I listened in. I was a little rusty on my sneaking and was caught but fought all of Ulric's men, thanks to the training form you lot. Ulric, rather then arresting me, was impressed and wanted me to work for him. I thought it would be a good way to get information and thought that I would stay on for a while. It's lucky I did too because he sent me as a representative to this ball and I was in the meeting which you all missed. I was looking forward to seeing you all swoop in."

"We ran into an old friend," I told him.

"Well you are lucky to have me then," Ben continued. "I was there and know where Prince John is hiding all of the money that the Lords donated to pay knights to remove King Richard from the throne. I also know that there is a council in charge of ensuring that the right person is crowned in the event of the Kings death. There are complications you see. John is not automatically the next in line for the throne. Before the King left he wrote a secret document regarding who was to take over ruling England in the event of his death and hid it away somewhere. The council know who it is which is an advantage. On the event of Richard's death, the Council will crown the new heir. This heir will be protected after that. So Prince John cannot kill Richard until he knows who the heir is. Everything must remain secret until everything is clear."

"So why can't we just tell the council?" Robin asked.

"Well we don't know who they are" Ben explained, "and why would they believe outlaws who are sworn to hate Prince John? We need to find the document before Prince John does."

"So is that what the meeting was about?" John asked. "He wants all of the Lords to begin to search for the document?"

"Yes but it wasn't just Lord's he was talking to. Powers of logic are not gifted to those just because of money and power. The Prince has had scouts search all through Nottingham, searching for anyone know for their smarts. You see, the document can only be found from a series of clues. Now if it's all the same to you I would like to come back now. The servants life is not for me. I grew homesick very fast."

"Glad to have you" Robin told him as the rest of us cheered. "Now first things first. I'd say it would be a waste of a night if we don't separate John from his newly acquired gold."

"It's split up in four different parts of the castle," Ben informed us. "There aren't many guards as once again, he doesn't know that we know. It is however hidden deep inside these rooms and there will be bobby traps."

"So we'll need four groups" Robin said "Bryce and Thomas come with me. Ben, you take John, Much and Luke. Will go with Roger, Michael and Mark which leaves Greg, Keighley and Allen. Everyone meet back here as soon as you can."

I couldn't help noticing how Robin hadn't picked Keighley to be in his group like he normally did. She noticed too and looked very unhappy. She began to complain to Greg as we set off but he shushed her. "I know you have your little problems right now but we really need to focus on the job."

She was silent after that and we easily got our gold. It seemed that John had not had the time to set up the booby traps yet as we could practically walk in and take our spoils. There were a few guards of course but we easily took care of them. And by that, I admit that Greg and Keighley did most of the work. There was a lot of gold and it was extremely hard to carry. It was a giant trunk that Bryce and I lugged while Keighley had her sword at the ready for any guards. We didn't run into any guards but we did hear people talking and quickly drew into the shadows.

"So the meeting went off without a hitch?" Someone was asking Prince John. "I know him" Greg whispered. "That's Annie's fiancé, Hadrian."

"It did. But none of this matters if we don't find the document" Prince John was saying, getting angry.

"Calm down" Hadrian said. "You've already taken most of the main people out of the running. Your niece is in France with no wish of ruling and thanks to me Annie will soon be gone." They both laughed. He continued, "I think I'm going to need an extra bonus due to how annoying she is."

"I'm already giving you land and power. How much more can you take from me for the simple task of marrying one of my few remaining relatives?"

"How much are you willing to give to secure you crown."

"A lot but I thoroughly doubt she is the next heir."

Hadrian smirked at the Prince "better to be safe then sorry right?"

Greg was disgusted. Annie really loved that man.

"I have to tell her," he whispered.

"Well right now just help us get this back to camp," I told him as we snuck back in the opposite direction.

Everyone was successful in getting their gold. "So how do we start, looking for the document?" Thomas asked Ben.

"The prince only knew of one clue. King Richard wrote a riddle that no one has been able to even begin to solve."

He was right. We had no clue of how to even start.

His words were as follows.

**_The location in half keeps animals able_**

**_But I assure you that it is in no way a stable_**

**_The next part is known only to my family tree_**

**_To the niece and nephew of my brother, not me_**

**_So wish if you will, if answers you plead_**

**_But just as you do this, there will be no need _**

**_For the answer is deep, but search for your prize_**

**_Your deep thirst for knowledge could drown your demise _**

**_Good luck friends_**

**_And curses to my enemies_**

But that was clearly meant to be tomorrows problem.

Escape seemed so much more fulfilling than worrying over the riddle on that night. So we ran. Unfortunately we ran into Juliana towards the final exit. "How did it go?" she asked as she grabbed Robin's arm.

"Get your filthy hands off him" Keighley said as she stepped towards Juliana. "When will you learn that he cares nothing for you?"

"Oh really?" Juliana said with that evil little smirk on her face. "It is rather funny that I did not get such an impression. And he had plenty of opportunity to show me after all. Well there was last night. And the night before. And the night before. Sadly he was busy the night before that but he did come to see briefly. Did he not tell you that he has become some what of a regular visitor to my quarters late at nights?"

Keighley looked to Robin in horror but he did not even bother to try and deny it. Some say this was due to how he had been so obviously caught out. I blame exhaustion of the whole situation.

"Look, you've had your chance and clearly you're not worthy of him," Juliana told her also stepping towards her. By now they were eye to eye. Both were very tall but Juliana had a slight height advantage from her rich Norman footwear. Keighley still showed no sign of backing away.

"Why wont you leave us be?," Keighley yelled and punched Juliana who was temporarily stunned by this sudden action. Then that moment ended and she attacked back.

The fight that followed could easily threaten any fight previous, including that of Robin and Gisbourne. No weapons were needed as their entire bodies became lethal. The gang cheered wildly although I could not quite make out what they were saying. I think they were hoping for the pair to knock each other out at the same time rather then actually supporting one or the other.

"Are you going to stop this?" I asked Robin.

He looked stunned and took a moment to reply. "This is out of control," he said softly.

"I agree but-"

He cut me off and yelled at them "This is out of control." They stopped fighting and looked at him in shock.

"I don't love either of you," he said. "I never wanted any of this. Keighley, I'm sorry for leading you on. I was confused and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Juliana, the same applies to you. I love Marian. She may be gone but that doesn't change my feelings. I will never love either of you. You have to stop this."

Both women were shocked. Keighley was frozen in place. Juliana tried to fix her hair in a feeble attempt at regaining some dignity and stormed off. Keighley snapped out of her daze and ran off, too fast for anyone to follow her. Robin sighed and leant back against the wall, thoroughly exhausted.

"You had to do it," I told him.

"I hope so."

Applause was suddenly heard from the side but no merriment was present in it. Gisbourne stepped out from the shadows with a dark smile on his face. "Good show Hood," he said as he continued to clap. "Very entertaining. Women aye? Can't live with them and apparently, you can't live without them. You should be glad that Marian is gone. Else she saw with her own eyes your true nature. How long did you mourn her farewell aye? It's good to know that all of your words of eternal love with nothing more than lies."

It seemed that Gisbourne could have continued forever with these little comments and we all expected Robin to interrupt at any second with angered violence. But Robin simply turned and walked away. We all took it as a sign to follow. I know Robin, he was too ashamed to fight Gisbourne as he feared that his words were right.

Gisbourne applauded on until we were far enough away that we could no longer hear him. I suspected however that Robin heard that horrid applause a lot longer than the rest of us.

And then there was silence again.

For once, I had bigger things to think of than Robin's love life. Everyone had decided to leave the clue for tomorrow but I was already deep in thought about the second part.

After all, the nephew of King Richard's brother, was me.


	41. Desperate Times

Chapter Forty-One

18th October 1191

A week had passed since discovering that blasted clue. Three days of endless mind-numbing thought that has resulted in a perfect score of nothing. As if that wasn't enough, our new houseguest was making life positively unbearable. Please do not be under the impression that this was Ben's fault. The lad quickly settled straight back into outlaw life with only minor teasing over his new beard and manly demeanor.

Our new horrid and unbearable houseguest was none other than my horrid sister Annie and the whole experience was against our will as well as her own.

So why would we put ourselves through such torture you ask?

For England of course.

After a sleepless night, I was quick to inform everyone that the clue directly spoke of me. Will had briefly scoffed and loudly mumbled about the unlikelihood of this but there was no denying it upon further thought.

King Richard spoke of a niece and nephew of his brother. The King himself had two nieces and one nephew directly but this did not fit in the puzzle and it was also stated that the niece and nephew were not his. This left two brothers. Prince John is unmarried obviously. What kind of woman could stand matrimony with the likes of such a brute? But there was the other brother William. His wife had an older brother who had two children, Annie and myself.

The trouble was that I knew nothing. Greg reminded us that there were two siblings mentioned and why not ask Annie? We tried desperately to remind him of her terrible nature but the bloke did have a point.

Then the thought struck us; what if Prince John thought the same as we did? He was a fool but he had plenty of men at his disposal that were hired for genius.

Robin shook his head in upmost confusion as he realised what he was about to order. "We have to get to Nottingham. Fast. To see Annie." This was said with many a pause of horror.

Everyone was ordered to gather weapons quickly and prepare to leave. Sudden fervent muttering from the gang showed their discomfort at the upcoming task. Bryce was pushed to the front to confront Robin. It was very odd, seeing this tall and tough man, masking a panicked look and saying, "the others think that Annie may not need our help." He was angrily nudged and correctly himself, "myself included."

Robin studied him and the others with a small half smile as he figured out the problem. "So it's true. England's bravest heroes are scared of a woman."

The gang quickly stood up as tall as they could while flexing muscles and muttering manly things to mask their cowardess. I may or may not have been included in this pathetic facade.

Who am I kidding? I was the main persecutor.

"I'll come," Greg said, "that clue is important to England. We need her on our side." Luke also deemed fit to go, though his reasons were not clear. No one objected. It was rather difficult to control Luke nowadays and his offering to help was an extreme abnormality.

Besides, we could use all the help we could get. Notice how I say we. It was a never a question of whether I wanted to go or not. I did try to stay in safety. But as soon as I began to verbalize my opinion, Robin did not allow me to speak, rather saying, "you are her brother Allen. We need you with us on this one."

And there I was thinking I was of sudden importance. "You know, that clue calls for me. And that clue is of the upmost importance. Hence forth, I am practically a national treasure. So shouldn't I be protected above all else and kept safe here at camp?" Will brought me back to earth as he hit me on the back of the head, just to remind me of how special I really was. "Fine, I'll go. But I am not happy about it!"

We expected to fight with a multitude of guards that we would just escape from. In reality all we faced was Annie in a bad mood. A bloody battle with guards would have been easier.

She was also all too happy to bring me back to normality, stating "Allen you have always considered yourself a bit of a God but seriously? We met King Richard a few times a year and he never particular showed interest in us. Why would this clue single out you?"

"Not just me," I said, trying to hold back my angered tone. "It mentions you too."

She paused. "Well I on the other hand, am far superior but I still seriously doubt that we are an important part of the future ruler of England."

Robin grew bored and interjected. "Be that as it may, we still require you to come with us. Trust me, the idea disgusts us as much as you." She backed away at his words, eyes desperately flicking about for a weapon.

"Wait," Greg called out and stepped towards her. "This doesn't have to be a fight. It is extremely important that you come with us. The future of England is at stake."

Dare I say his words were making a minor impact on her stone cold heart? We were granted a pause to convince her further. But before Greg could say another word the door burst open and it seemed that my previous vision was correct. Guards came pouring in. Four Merry Men versus around twenty guards. We had faced worse. There was still a pause, as we looked each other up and down. These were not normal guards but rather Terrowyn's personal troop, straight from the Holy Land. "Little slow aren't we?" Robin said to them, "looks like Terrowyn took his time figuring out the same part of the clue that took us barley no time at all."

The opposition showed no emotion. The one in front informed us, "oh contrare. Our master has one section to go. This one. So I'm afraid that the girl must come with us."

"Girl?" Annie angrily protested and looked ready to storm ready and give them a piece of her mind. Luke quickly had her arm and was pulling her back.

The Saracens drew their weapons. "We have been instructed to bring the girl to our Master, at any means possible."

Finally Annie was silent as she realised the danger she was in. Never before had she relied on help from Robin but she found herself edging behind him, masking her worry.

Luckily each Merry Man present was blessed in swordplay as a ferocious fight followed. They were just as skilled but their pride would be their undoing. Each wished to be the individual who killed Robin Hood so they awaited their turn to fight him. This meant Robin had an easy task of defeating them in single combat while we ambushed the ones waiting. It was not an immobile fight and we progressed through the castle. This was rather dangerous as the fight reached its strong point at the top of the grand staircase. A childhood memory was the thing that saved the day. Annie looked desperately for a means of escape and remembered that time when a very young Marian had refused to use stairs. In its place, she used the banister to get from place to place. Annie had always hated this dangerous activity and turned her nose up at it many a time. Rolling her eyes, she hitched up her skirts and held on for dear life. Robin and I shared amused glances at the memory before following suit. Greg sighed and muttered, "We are supposed to be great outlaws without a shred of immaturity. "But then he realised that he had the choice of keeping his dignity of remaining on his own with Terrowyn's complete minor army. Also rolling his eyes, he followed. Terrowyn's guards were extremely confused. There had been no staircases where they were from and even if they were, sliding was out of the question.

And with that we ran to freedom. We lost Luke in the chaos but we trusted that he would be fine. Losing him was not a regular occurrence nowadays.

We made it back to camp and that is where the real trouble started. I learnt many things about our camp over the next few days. It was too dirty and made sitting impossible. It was too cold at night and too hot during the day. We talked too much. We talked about too many pointless and boring things. The food was not up to her standard. John snores too loudly. That last one is the only one that is true but you get my point. Many more statements like that followed but I have no wish to waste many pages.

All the while we spent every waking moment mulling over that forsaken riddle.

After days we realised that England could not suffer in the short run so Robin took a few men to make a few quick deliveries. I could tell instantly that he was gone because Keighley showed her face around camp. Annie was instantly glaring at her but everyone tactfully looked away to avoid any emotions. Will and Roger went to the effort to leave camp claiming to be following Robin. Thomas and Mark pulled at their flagons, needing liquid courage in case anything happened. Poor Ben still had no idea of who she was as no one had bothered to explain the complete situation to him.

"So who is going to tell me who Marian is?" she asked us.

Michael sighed as if it were a great burden. "I guess it will have to be me. I was her best friend after all." Everyone groaned at how proud he was. "Marian is the kind of girl who-" But he trailed off, not knowing how to describe her.

Much tried to say, "she is-" but also found he couldn't find the words. No one could.

"She was Marian" Michael finally said as if this was explanation enough.

I finally explained, in shorten form of course. I didn't have the time or energy to go deeper. "She was betrothed to Robin before he was outlawed and because she was so stubborn she pretended not to love him anymore after he was outlawed. She got engaged to Gisbourne and it got pretty complicated with Robin and Gisbourne constantly trying to kill each other and getting really close every time. The wedding came and we all put on a pretty big show."

"Thanks to me," Much said, looking very proud.

"Anyway," I continued, not happy at being interrupted. "It looked like she was finally going to return to Robin but she left to be a physician. So basically you should give up all form of hope."

"Well why did no one ever mention her before?" Keighley asked.

"Well it was a bit of a sensitive subject," John said. "She is the most important thing in the world to Robin." His words hit her hard, just as I supposed they were meant to.

"Is she pretty?" Keighley asked.

They all scoffed. "pretty? Try the most beautiful woman you've ever seen." Thomas told her, much to the annoyance of Martha. "Aside from the love of my own life," he tried to cover up desperately. She glared for a split moment but allowed him this minor slip up.

Keighley decided that she had heard enough and decided to go out. She wandered through Sherwood without a distinct destination, getting wrapped up in her own thoughts.

Hearing footsteps she quickly hid in the bushes. It is not safe to be around Sherwood at night, no matter whose gang you are in. In all truths, being in Robin's gang would probably have increased her danger level. So she hid, weapon at the ready. To her surprise, it was Luke walking past. She was about to call out and join him when suspicion stopped her. Why was he out at this time? Well she had nothing else to do so she followed him. They didn't get far before she realised what he was doing.

They stopped when they reached a clearing and Luke approached a cloaked figure.

"Well it's about time," the figure said as he turned. Keighley's eyes widened as she saw it was the Sheriff. "So tell me, what has Hood been doing?"

"He still hasn't figured out the clue," Luke said.

The sheriff groaned. "No one has had any luck with it. Prince John is getting frantic."

"Well what can I say?" Luke continued, "We have other things to focus on as well."

"Well stop with those things. I'm not paying you to sit around and hope for the best. Stop wasting my time." He turned and walked off. "You're not getting paid for today."

All the while Keighley was sitting there in shock, wondering how Luke could do this to us. She didn't know what to do. She needed proof but didn't know where to start. She could just tell Robin and hope that he believes her but she wasn't exactly in a position to do that right now. It could just turn into Luke's word against Keighley's and she was aware how the gang viewed her. No one would take her side.

This new knowledge weighed down on her throughout the night until she plucked up the courage to approach Robin. "Can I talk to you?" she finally asked. He looked like there was a lot of things he would rather do but he followed. They both knew he owed her that much. "I know this isn't going to be easy for you to hear but-"

He cut her off "Look Keighley, I'm sorry but right now I really have to-"

"I'm not talking about us," she practically yelled at him. She realised her volume and began to whisper. "This isn't going to be easy to hear, but Luke has been giving information to the Sheriff."

She couldn't tell how Robin was feeling from the look on his face. After all, Luke was one of Robin's oldest and most trusted men. Hearing about his betrayal could not have been easy. Robin had also been doing everything in his power to be there for Luke after the lose of his brother. He thought of all of his men as family. And now one had betrayed him.

She told him the whole story, his face betraying no emotion the whole time.

"So I now this will probably turn into a horrible game of my word against his and I know he is more in your favour right now but please know that I have nothing to gain from making this up. I understand if you don't trust me but please try."

"I don't want to," he said "but it does make a lot of sense. How he is always disappearing and how the sheriff has been so easily foiling our plans this past year. Don't say anything just yet. We need more proof." He was instantly into action but turned back. " Thank you Keighley. Trust me. I will take care of this."

Robin disappeared for the rest of the night and came back early in the morning, claiming to have uncovered the clue. "How could you possibly know?" Bryce asked. "Someone of importance gave me a tip, Please just trust me, I will explain later. We leave tonight for the old abandoned church in Derby. I have to go sort out some things. Be ready to leave tonight."

Everyone was busy discussing the clue that they didn't notice Luke sneaking out.

The guilt was proving to be too much for him. The information he knew could give Prince John the power to rule. But the gold. The gold would be an unbelievable sum. He could no longer fool himself. Revenge was no longer his sole purpose. He enjoyed the wealth.

His journey came to an abrupt holt when he saw a figure by a distant tree. Covering the sun from his eyes, he could have sworn he saw Matthew. But upon second glance, he was alone again. He had seen that figure many a time before. It often came at times of great inner conflict. Times like the present. He was not an evil man. He had simply chosen an evil path.

There were so many opportunities to return. He came to many an abrupt halt, glancing around desperately for a determining sign.

And yet somehow, he was in the Sheriff's quarters, hating himself but listening intently for the sound of clanking coins.

"I trust you are not wasting my time again," the Sheriff said. No words came to Luke as his body gave one final attempt for redemption. However, the silence intrigued the Sheriff. He reached for a moneybag that was double the size of what Luke was used to. Then he reached for another. He slowly dangled them in front of Luke who for his part could not take his eyes of them.

"It's in the old abandoned church in Derby."

His smirk made Luke cringe. One of the bags was thrown at him. "You know how this goes" he said "you get the other half when this works. You can go now."

So Luke trailed out, feeling worse then he ever had before. Once again, an image of Matthew stepped out from behind a corner, with that same pained expression of sorrow.

'Stop looking at me!" he yelled. He turned away but another image was behind him. He staggered about the corridors, filled with such self-disgust and loathing. Being so deep in this state, he tripped and fell to the stone floor. Gold coins scattered across the floor in what he felt was a deafening roar. He scrambled to regain the gold, ignoring the pain he had gained from the hard collision.

Pausing, he realised what he had truly become. Looking down at his hands, he saw pathetic gold coins, covered in his own blood.

His dagger was practically calling to him. It seemed to be a savior and could end his suffering.

Dropping the gold, he found that he could no longer hear the crashing.

All focus was on the knife and ending this pathetic excuse of a life.

A call of his name brought him out of the frenzy. He turned to see Friar Tuck bending down beside him. "What brings you here? Are you alright?"

Luke could not answer. He simply allowed the Friar to help him to his feet. "I heard about the clue, "Tuck continued, "shouldn't you be at camp helping to plan?"

"I was," Luke stammered, once again unable to finish. "Give this gold to the poor," he finally said and ran off alone.

Tuck told me this story the next day, overwhelmed with worry.

It was too late. Luke was already gone.


	42. Leaving a Traitor

20th October 1191

I like to think that there was a shred of humanity left in Luke and he felt a slight ounce of remorse as we left for Derby. After all, he knew that it was a doomed journey.

Thinking back, I do recall there being something slightly off about his person but we were all far too caught up in the excitement to further this.

As of late, many a journey was typically filled with an odd emotion. Certainly not that of boredom but something similar. More likely it was simply a sense of normality as everything was simply another job. This reminded me of almost three years ago when we were new outlaws, all a buzz over the idea of the adventures that surely awaited us.

"I have a good feeling about this," Much said cheerily as he practically skipped along the forest trail. Thomas glared at him for the mere fact that his enthusiastic skipping almost knocked him mid swig from his flask. But his spirits could not stay damped for long. Even after Mark stole the said flask which normally would have resulted in blood. Sharing was never amongst the good qualities of those two.

Much's good mood was most probably due to more than simply our sudden unexplainable miraculous understanding of that cryptic nightmare. After all, Keighley was once again available and full of a deep loathing for Robin. He could not wait to use to his advantage.

"Actually," he continued, "I feel so good, I thinking I have to sing about." The agonized groans from the rest of the gang sent many a startled bird in flight from the restful trees. But this new positive attitude came with a new quality of dedication and Much decided that singing would be appropriate despite the possible threat to his life. Thankfully, he was aware of his lack of skill in this field and ran over to Michael for a little assistance.

Michael never missed an opportunity to sing and belted out, "hi did idly din, today we're going to win." There was minimal melody and lyrics to this made up song. In fact, that one simple line was simply repeated over and over. Much cottoned on fast and joined in enthusiastically. Will had his dagger poised at the ready, which was obviously the feeling of most others present.

Eventually Roger leant over and sung "Hi did idly dunch, your face I'm going to punch" and they ceased instantly.

Even after the blasted singing ceased, merriment continued. Nothing as loud and annoying but everyone was still happily conversing and it made the trip all the shorter thankfully. Before we knew it, the sight of Derby was before us.

That Church was supposed to hold the answer. What we were greeted with was a complete chaotic mess. It seemed that the Sheriff was never one for subtly as the building had clearly been ransacked. All traces of merriment were instantly gone as everyone's faces slowly dropped with the realisation.

Everyone except Ben that is. He may have grown in this past year but he was still a little naive lad at times and he did not realise that the Church was not meant to have this appearance. "Shall we get searching then?" he said happily, before pausing after noticing the sudden change of all else present.

"No need" Robin said. "I was here before. It may have been abandoned but it was in perfect condition."

So many different emotions spanned the room at that point. But I can safely say that everyone universally wished for someone to explain.

"You were here before?" Bryce said slowly. "So why did you not get the document?"

"Because it is not here," Robin said. "We have a spy amongst us and I had to see if they planned on telling the Sheriff if we ever tracked it down. I was hoping they wouldn't."

Luke could feel himself sweating in panic. Everyone was looking around for signs of a betrayer.

"Well can I just point out that it's not me," Much said.

"It's not me," Mark added.

"Or me" said Greg.

Everyone began to plea their innocence desperately when Robin yelled "Stop! I know who it is."

He turned and looked to Luke.

There was a sharp intake of breath around the room and many a hand was flung to a weapon. "You can't think that it would me," Luke sputtered out but he knew it was useless.

Keighley stepped forward "I followed you the other day. I saw you talk to the Sheriff."

He turned to her sharply. "Will you, for the love of God, be silent you stupid tart!"

Much stepped forward, as menacingly as he could. John swished his quarterstaff so that it blocked Much's path. Initially I thought this was an act of kindness but upon later thinking, I could see that John wished to be the one who would punish the traitor.

"Just tell me why" Robin said, trying desperately to remain calm.

"Why?" Gisbourne killed my brother. By being on the Sheriffs side I am making sure he gets the punishment he deserves."

"You did all this to get back at Gisbourne?" Robin asked, getting angry.

"Don't pretend like he doesn't deserve it" Luke yelled. "You can be such a hypocrite at times. When Gisbourne took Marian from you, you would have done anything to stop him. Well he took Matthew from me. And no one cares. Right now you are judging me because of my hate but you would have done the exact same thing!"

"I would never betray my friends," Robin yelled.

"You have tried to kill him. You are a fool. I shall make him suffer. I can assure you it will not be quick."

"Stop pretending you did this for Matthew. I found where you put your stash. But don't worry, as you obviously care nothing for it, I took it off your hands."

"How dare you. I earned that!"

"By betraying your friends!"

Luke stopped yelling and looked around at the gang. "Really?" he asked. "Friends? How many of you have avoided me this past year? How many of you even asked me how I was coping? You could all see that I was suffering and you all ignored me. Well if we are all such good friends, who will speak for me now? How many of you will demand that I deserve a second chance?"

No one moved. He looked each of them in the eye but they all looked away or were unable to hold his gaze.

"Great friends" Luke said and turned to leave. Will grabbed him and shoved him

into the wall. "You are not going anywhere. You have been selling our secrets. I say we teach him a lesson." The dark anger resulted in one terrified traitor. Will, Roger and John were all ready to hurt or maybe even kill him. Everyone else cheered them on.

"Leave him" Robin yelled at them. "He's not worth it."

They released him and there was silence.

It was strange after all the shouting that had just happened. His footsteps echoed as our old friend ran out into the rain.

He had entered an outlaw.

He left a traitor.

_The esteemed words of the Sheriff of Nottingham_

_16__th__ October 1191_

_An odd sight greeted me earlier this evening. I did not mind this. I always loved the image of a defeated outlaw. That pathetic outlaw spy charged through my door, sopping wet and dripping all over my fine new rug. Completely inconsiderate. I never learnt his name. I probably should, now that he shall be working for me._

_ He clearly expected anger from me. Anger was the least he deserved after the waste of my precious time. But I think a small part of me knew he would fail me so I daren't have had high hopes. _

_ Those perfectly amazing detection skills of mine proved well as I knew that something was not right. Faces can speak a thousand works without uttering a sound and his face was radiating desperation. It was delicious. _

_ There was still his punishment to think of. But could I possibly add to a man clearly so low?_

_ Of course I could_

_ I enjoyed it too._

_ With one small gesture from me, one of my guards (of whom I also do not know the name) punched him hard in the stomach. He looked to me for approval and one small raise of my left eyebrow told him to hit again. And again._

_ He took far too long as he writhed in pain. Once again, I struggle to believe how inconsiderate one man can be. There I was, patiently waiting to punish him some more and he would not stop being in agony. I gave him plenty of subtle hints of my boredom in the hopes that he would hurry up. Deep sighs of boredom proved useless. "You have failed me again," I finally said, as it was obvious that he would not beg like I had hoped._

_ "It was a trick," he muttered. "Robin knows. I am no longer a Merry Man."_

_ "What am I supposed to do? Feel sorry for you?" Honestly, why do people keep forgetting that I have no feelings? He began to tell me how he was caught helping me and I should therefore help him but I did not want to hear such things. I told him, "You were not helping me. Stop trying to stay a hero. You were helping yourself because you are devious, selfish and no better than the rest of us." He lowered his head in shame at such a realisation. Oh how I enjoy the misery. _

_ But I am far too good for my own good and continued. "I could use someone like you."_

_ His eyes flickered up in hope. But there was still more punishment to delve out. I ordered the other guards to take him to the servants quarters and get him cleaned up. He seemed almost happy as he thought himself in the clear. _

_ It was so much fun to ruin that. "Unfortunately the only opening I have on my staff is with Gisbourne. He is my right hand man and I have a lot of work I need doing. The imbociele is incapable."_

_ He misunderstood. But that was intention. "So you want me to have Gisbourne's job?" he said, even happier than that of the past._

_ "Oh no no no no," I said happily. "You are to be his right hand man and take orders from him. Refusal to do so will result in a fate much worse than Hood could ever give you. Enjoy!"_

_ The look of horror and rage showed that my punishment had taken true effect._

_ It is good to be in charge._

20th October 1191

We heard many a tale of Luke's new life. Most involved constant demeaning tasks at the hand of his worst enemy. This suited us fine.

What we did not approve of, was tasks that hurt others.

From what I understand, the Sheriff summoned Luke to his side on one dark day. There was a man chained to the wall who Luke knew. We all did. He was one of the strongest believers in our cause in all of Nottingham. Many a time he had stopped us on the street to thank us profoundly for any small act of kindness. The Sheriff informed him, "This man has been seen publically preaching for Hood. Apparently he thinks it appropriate to think Hood a hero and is encouraging others to do the same. This is unacceptable. Prove your loyalty to me." With these words came a dagger, pressed firmly in the traitors hand.

I wonder what went through Luke's head. Obviously nothing of the mans three children.

Still, I do not doubt that he will never forget those screams.

He is only human.

The Sheriff smiled that dark smile and said, "well done. You passed! Even Gisbourne did not pass that back when he first joined my ranks. I think you will go far."

It finally hit Luke. He was worse than Gisbourne. What was odd was that he did not care.

Robin and I saw Luke that day. It was quite the interruption to our treasury raid. John was with us and he looked ready to beat Luke until his head was unrecognizable. Robin told us to move on. Only he remained.

"I remember when you first came to me. Matthew was dragging you along after him and he eagerly told me that you both wished to join me in my fight. He said that you both were not very skilled in swordplay or archery but he could do basic cooking and you knew physician skills. I normally test people with fighting and aiming challenges but with you I asked you to help a little boy who was sick. He didn't have long to live but you worked with him all night and you refused to let him die. He did though but do you remember what I told you?"

Luke shrugged even though he did know. Robin continued, "I told you that you did not need physician skills to be in the gang. You did not need any skills. You just need to care about people, even the lowliest of beggars and you could do that. At least you used to? What happened?"

Luke had no answer and Robin walked away.

He took Luke's old life with him.


	43. The Things Enemies will do for Bacon

Chapter forty-three

2nd November 1191

There are many folk in this world who were sadly not blessed with a great deal of wit. Then there are those who possess a great deal of wit in one important area, but not in another.

This is the story of such a man.

It pains me to write this, but John Laxbrey, could be considered to be a tad wiser than the likes of myself. But only a tad. Brains such as mine are still extremely rare and precious.

This man, Laxbrey, had been recognised early on for having such extraordinary intellect. By his early twenties he had been sold countless times but had reached his peek when he was brought to the royal court of France. Rumours of his wisdom spanned countries as I recall being jealous of him from my early intellectual years.

It was a dark day when I heard that my childhood hero has vanished off the face of the earth. I had deemed to name a day of mourning but the other Merry Men saw no reason to honour anyone that did no possess their obvious physical skill, proving once again what wild dogs they truly are.

That was in my first year of being an outlaw and no one has heard from Laxbrey ever since.

That is, until a few days ago.

Apparently, while we had been running about attempting to decipher the clue, Prince John had been running about attempting to find someone to do it for him.

People of importance never really go missing. Folk such as me were not the only ones interested in the likes of such a brain. Others had been tracking him and had traced his location to England. Derby, specifically. And these types of men knew how to trap the likes of him. Past events had taught that such a man noticed minuet details that proved disastrous to anyone thinking to trap him. Results of this equated to him evading traps as if laid out by minuscule children.

But as I previously stated, no one can be wise in all possible areas. These men knew how to trap him and it had to be using something that the brain cannot possibly fathom.

Love.

But I do not mean real love. Thankfully for them, the likes of Laxbrey would know no difference and they already had that viper Juliana at their disposal.

A woman scorned had no boundaries and once she decided that this could reflect badly on Robin, she was quick to offer her involvement.

From what I understand, it did not take long for Laxbrey to decide that he and Juliana shared the post passionate love in history. That is the trouble with brains. Brawn does tend to win over when females chose a mate. Our day will come but I fear for him, that day would have nothing to do with Juliana. He was a fool, for the first time in his life, and trusted her with his real identity. Once all was confirmed, the guards burst in and he was dragged back to Nottingham with the intention of forcing out the knowledge that Prince John so desperately desired.

Now as you all recall, we had just undergone our first spy dilemma in which we had lost a valuable member of the gang. However, what Thomas was unaware of is that spies are the best people to spy off of.

We never had such a plan. The plan was formed by his once good friend Pete. Their relationship had hit quite a strain over the past year. Luke had never had particular skill when it came to being a friend and this only worsened upon Matthew's death. The once regular visits to his friend became scarce before dropping out completely. But interestingly enough, when Luke lost the friendship of the entire gang, he found that he ever so slightly missed human companionship. And being around such evils as the Sheriff on a regular basis was taking a toll. All he wanted was to see someone who was genuinely happy to see him.

He was not to get this from Pete. We had known Pete for a while and despite the fact that he constantly grumbled about disliking us, we knew that his loyalties lied with our cause. Betraying it was a horrid act.

Pete was a strong man. Yet I believe that his heart bled during that moment he locked the door at the approach of a once good friend. Luke did not understand at first and thought it a mistake. Surely the door was simply dysfunctional. For if he had one true friend, it was that of Pete. But the door remained bolted.

The next logical option was that his friend was playing a trick. A fowl one at that. "Let me in you bastard," he called but to no answer.

The next and only option to Luke was that he must not be home and called him guard over. "Come, we have much to do. The Sheriff has demanded that we find that Laxbrey bastard by dawn or it is your head of which I will be happy to oblige to him."

The words of cruelty cut at Pete but he pulled through to understand their meaning. He too, knew of the legend that is Laxbrey and hurried to alert us to their plan.

From there, more spying on our part occurred and that is how Robin came to be running to the supposed hiding place of the so-called genius.

None of the above is incredibly important. I just needed you to be aware of all of this so you understand the real purpose of this entry.

And how Robin was kidnapped.

And so was Gisbourne.

It was definitely one of the odder stories that I have encountered.

.

.

.

Robin never opened his eyes immediately after waking. He had learnt form experience that it was better to figure out your surroundings first. If he had been captured, it was always better to not let your captors know of your conciseness.

First, he quickly reflected, trying to recall any events that he could remember. He remembered Laxbrey, and trying to save him. He remembered Gisbourne seeing him and trying to catch him. They had run as they both tried everything to fight each other to reach the clearing first. It had been empty.

Then came the pain. It couldn't have been Gisbourne, he had been to Robin's left and the hit had come from behind. As he drifted to sleep, he remembered the sound of clashing swords, meaning the enemy had been against Gisbourne too.

Robin hoped that he had killed him.

Once the situation was assessed, Robin tried to figure out his surroundings.

It was cold. Not enough to complain but enough to be uncomfortable. There was a crackling of a fire, supplying slight warmth. Birdcalls were absent but crickets remained, making Robin believe that it must be after dark.

Otherwise, there was silence. He dared to open his eyes a tiny smidgen but couldn't make out anything but a few blurry shapes. Finally he gave in and peered around.

He had been right about his previous estimates. What he hadn't planned for was for Gisbourne to be tied up beside him. He glared at his through his gag.

"Good you're up," said a voice said from the side. "Please don't tell me that I have to gag you like this one." Gisbourne mumbled inaudibly but Robin guessed it was a threat of some kind.

"Who are you?" Robin asked, as calmly as he could to avoid annoying the man.

"A good friend of Laxbrey," he said, "and I am not letting you kill him."

"Kill him?" Robin exclaimed, almost laughing in relief, "I came to help him."

The man scoffed. "Sure you did. I know what the two of you want. You people make me sick. Trading in an innocent mans life for money. How do you live with yourselves?"

Once again, Robin just felt like laughing. "You seriously think that I'm working with this man?" he said, gesturing to Gisbourne. "I hate the bastard."

Gisbourne murmured his agreement. It appeared that he also found the situation hilarious.

Their captor didn't seem convinced. "Do you think I was born yesterday? I know your game. You lie and expect me to untie you so you can overpower and kill him."

"For goodness sake. I'm Robin Hood! I'm one of the good ones."

"Names mean nothing to me. Keep talking and I will get you a gag too."

Robin choose silence. Temporarily.

Laxbrey finally decided to show up and nearly did a double take when he saw the situation. "Graham that's Robin Hood. How on earth did you get him tied up?"

The man, Graham, was clearly confused but finally believed Robin's identity. He was still cautious as Laxbrey tried to untie him. "Are you sure you can trust him?"

Laxbrey just gave him a look that made him back off as he finished with the bindings.

Robin stretched as he checked that everything was still intact. He could feel bruises already forming from the previous attack.

"I would just like to point out that what I said before was true. I am a good person who doesn't normally turn to violence," he said. "But in this case I feel a change." And he leapt forward and punched Gisbourne as hard as he could. The pain in his fist seared up his arm from the force but he didn't notice as he hit Gisbourne again.

Once again, he was knocked out.

He didn't bother with caution the second time waking. He instantly fought his bindings as Gisbourne did the same. Robin took pride in the black eye he could see that he had caused his enemy but wanted to inflict much more.

"You can fight it all you want, but those bindings wont break," Laxbrey said, rather amused. "If a life in captivity has taught me anything, it's how to tie effective knots that are inescapable. Now, I will ungag you if you promise to not yell. At me or each other."

The pair nodded and reluctantly, Laxbrey pulled down their gags. He quickly raised a finger as they both opened their mouths to complain.

"Listen. Here is the plan. I am still a very wanted man. So my friend Graham is off determining an escape route for me. Until then I have to hide out here."

"And we are here because?" Robin asked.

"Well I can't release Gisbourne, he will arrest me. And if I release Robin then he will kill Gisbourne and I really don't want that on my conscience. So, I decided that you two shall become be my new project!"

"Project?" Gisbourne said in a flat voice.

"I am going to make you two forgive each other for whatever you both did to hate each other!" he said happily.

Both Robin and Gisbourne ignored the no talking rule and both rambled on quite angrily about Laxbrey and his apparent stupidity.

Laxbrey ignored both of them and raised the gags as a warning. "New rule. Only one person talks at a time. Now who wants to go first?"

His new rule had fallen on deaf ears. Once again, a multitude of sound burst forth as both men were all too eager to voice their hatred. Laxbrey, being the genius that he is, pulled a wooden spoon from deep in his sleeve and proceeded to tap each man very hard on the head. "It's a good technique," he said in answer to their confusion. "I can punish my students with pain, but not enough pain to cause long term pain."

"You," Gisbourne said slowly, "are a freak."

"Thank you," he said happily, "It only adds to my knowledge of other areas. While I have been blessed with rather impressive intellect, I do have sight with what you folk call normal interactions. Therefore, I have been studying it deeply these past few months. My current problem, trying desperately the relationship of enemies and correcting the tear in the bond. I thank you kindly for assisting me in my experiment."

"If you think that Gisbourne and I would ever forgive each other then you truly must be mad."

The man shrugged at Robin's intended insult. "I warned you that I know little of this area."

Gisbourne snorted but paused when he looked at the wooden spoon. It caused more pain than they would have originally predicated. "Clearly you do not, you were fooled by the likes of Juliana. Here is a hint for you Laxbrey. Women like that do not love and I cannot believe that you feel for her trickery."

Robin nodded in agreement briefly before he realised that this meant he was agreeing with the likes of Gisbourne. "So is that what your quarrel is over?" Laxbrey asked, "Juliana spoke of you both."

Once again, snorts were the only reply, as both men could not believe that the obvious crazed man believed them to both love Juliana. Such a realisation suddenly halted Gisbourne's laughter as he realised Robin's actions of the past year. "You?" he asked in a disbelieving tone, "and Juliana? Interesting," he said with a dark smile, "there were such rumours regarding you and that tall brunette woman."

Robin's eyes were suddenly anyway but in direct eyesight of anyone. Guilt was apparent. Letting out a long whistle, Gisbourne's eyes were full of glee. "Well isn't that just fantastic? Any other whores the world should know about?" Robin was thrashing against his bindings in a desperate attempt to free his hands. Freedom of hands would clearly silence him. This only delighted Gisbourne. "Hit a nerve have we? Well it's not every day that the romantic hero is displayed as a fraud."

All the while they had forgotten about the silent audience. "So this is about a woman?" Laxbrey concluded. "But not Juliana."

Both men were silent again. And stayed silence. Nothing could make them speak. Not even a threat from that damned spoon. A bewildered Laxbrey had never faced a problem that is the likes of Robin and Gisbourne. So instead, he used the end of his spoon to draw some complex symbols in the ground which formed some complicated problem of which he happily solved away.

Graham came running back, barley panting. Quite an achievement after such a run. "The North road far too many guards but there are far more on the other routes. If we stay as close to the road as we can, we can hopefully avoid guards while still staying on course."

Laxbrey's eyes never left his problem. "Certain mosses in Sherwood only grow on the North side of tree trunks as it always avoids direct sunlight which will be easier to track during the day as well as making it easier to spot guards who shall scouting every inch of the forest and will be constantly on the move which makes it impossible to avoid in the dark while they can instantly track us, night or day, but I shall be far louder at night because as you know, in the past I have gained a slightly higher skill level in the art of subtlety but factors of cold and darkness show us to be at a higher risk of capture as I make a foolish mistake on something such as a stray fallen branch or a tree root in an upward stance which has the intent of tripping me. Therefore I propose we stay here as I have unfinished work to do and you know that the knowledge of this unfinished work will gnaw away at my subconscious until I have another episode. So do not argue with me!"

That speech was said very fast and with minimal pauses. Robin and Gisbourne were left speechless as well as feeling thoroughly exhausted just from listening. Graham however, seemed used to such spiels as he adopted a calm tone in an attempt to reason with the clearly unreasonable. "You have solved that problem plenty of times," he said as he gestured to the mess of symbols.

The man was still never granted the curtsey of eye contact. All he was granted was a facial expression that clearly deemed him a fool. "Not that problem. That one!" and he pointed to Robin and Gisbourne. Laxbrey let out the deepest sigh that was humanly possible as he knew that debate would be futile. Finally Laxbrey seemed satisfied with his symbols and turned back to us. "Now, are you willing to co-operate? Because none of us are leaving until you two make some progress or the guards find us. And keep in mind that if the guards find us, I will be arrested and tortured and all praise will go to whichever useless guard stumbles upon us. Nothing will go to you Gisbourne except for the embarrassment of being captured and tied up. Meanwhile, you Hood, will get captured too as, despite you tremendous skill, you will be taken easily as you are tied up and possible put instantly to death. So what sounds preferable to you gentlemen? Death? Embarrassment? Or a few kind words?"

It seemed they would never consider the latter. But the loud rumbling of stomachs took presidency as Graham pulled a small bundle of food from his satchel. Laxbrey's eyes lit up as he saw the pair staring desperately at the bundle. It seemed the man knew a little more than he let about fellow humans as he knew that the smell of bacon cooking over a campfire was the weakness of many a man. Crouching down in front of the desperate man, he calmly said, "So what will you gentlemen do for a slice of bacon?"

And so began the most bizarre conversation in Sherwood Forest. He turned to Gisbourne first. "So, why are you mad at Hood?"

Laughter had to cease before he could put his hatred into words. "Where on earth do I start? Well there is hair. I just don't like it. How on earth does is stay so perfect considering he lives in a forest? And his attitude, also annoying. And oh yes, the fact that he stole my betrothed."

"Stole?" Robin sputtered and was answered with a hard hit from the spoon. "I don't care if it is not my time to speak, he is greatly exaggerating. She was all too happy to come with me,"

"After you did everything in your power to confuse her ever since I proposed!"

"I was perfectly in my right! She loved me and not you! And you knew that, so you sent her away!"

All the while, Laxbrey had been slowly reeling away, clearly unnerved at the raised tones. Patting him on the back, Graham whispered, "I think you best choose new folk for your experiment mate."

"Ok! Enough," Laxbrey yelled. The foolishness of this was quickly apparent as sudden silence followed. Everyone was anxiously on edge for the sounds of approaching guards. It seemed they were safe.

"So I think that it is time for a new tactic," he continued at a much more reasonable volume. "Instead of listing the many reasons you have for being angry, you are now required to say one nice thing about the other."

"I'd rather starve," Robin said.

"So would I," Gisbourne snarled.

"Look at that!" Laxbrey said happily. "You agree on something!"

"Just kill me now," Robin begged.

And so it continued. All the while, poor Laxbrey grew more and more frustrated. Being wrong about something was unbeknownst to him and this reflected badly upon his previous plan of how easy it would be to heal the rift. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Graham calmly said, "best take a walk aye? Gather your thoughts?" Apparently this was an unspoken code between the two for when Laxbrey was clearly about to lose sanity. All calm tones were gone when Graham turned to the Robin and Gisbourne. "Now look here. If you want us all to get killed, please go ahead with this foolishness. I know this man, have done for some years now and he will not give up until he believes he has made a break through. So you can sit here, waiting for death and pretend to embrace forgiveness. For goodness sake, who said that what you say has to be truthful? Just tell him what he wants to hear before the guards come."

The man had grown angry rather fast and placed the pair on edge. Robin studied the man and finally realised, "you really care for him, don't you?"

Graham snorted but did not disagree. "I believe that he is planning on using both of us as him primary example that supposed enemies can be friends. I was assigned to guard him when he was little more than a boy. And I saw what they did to him. What they planned on doing to him. No one deserves that. And he is a good soul. He was just cursed with genius. So for years I have helped him run and I will be damned if I let two pathetic idiots ruin it all."

By the time Laxbrey returned, it seemed that the pair had at least chosen to be civil. There was an odd gleam in Laxbrey's eyes, showing that his brain had been constantly working while he was away.

"Now gentlemen," he said, "kindly lend me your attention for one brief moment. Please do not speak, only think. If you are unconvinced by the end of this, I shall happily let you be on your way. Now I am sure people have asked you to do this in past and you have laughed at them. But please do me the honour of hearing me out. So imagine that your roles were reversed. Do not give me such looks gentlemen. I am no fool. I have no wish for you to imagine how the other was feeling or other pathetic nonsense like that. But Hood, assume that this Marian was here, completely untethered to another man and wanted to be with you. What would you do? Yes. You would pursue her. But wait; now you find that she was once with this man here. Do you say, "I suppose I best run away now? Obviously this man has prior claim so I have no right to seek my own happiness or consider hers because obviously she is happy with the original love?" No, you wish for her to stay with you. And you go to any means necessary. Gisbourne has done nothing wrong. Oh don't give that smug look Gisbourne, I am coming for you next. You need not even to pretend to be in Hood's shoes. Just imagine this. You wake up tomorrow to find that Marian has returned and is happily betrothed to Hood. Do you sit by and let it happen without so much as speaking to her? No doubt you would go beyond simply speaking. I imagine there would be plenty of begging involved as well the possibility of violence against this man. Think carefully about your answer. Is that what would you do? Or would you stand back and let her be happy? Because, in doing so, you would be admitting that she is happier with Hood and therefore their love is true where yours was not and therefore he had claim to ruin your wedding. So which is? Option One, admit you would repeat the same actions and show that your anger is hypocritical? Or option two, admit your anger is ill placed because Hood had right? Either way gentlemen, I pray that you finally realise how pointless all of this bickering has become."

"So you say we have never had a right to feel anger towards one another?" Gisbourne asked in an unreadable tone.

"No, not never. Anyone in your situation would feel great fury and it is understandable. But this anger belongs in the past. You cannot continue attacking each other every time you meet."

Both men were silent with realisation.

There was not a chance for anyone to respond. Finally, the guards found them.

It was a group of five. Easily manageable considering the company. But two of the three able bodied fighters were still in bondage and Graham was preoccupied with defending the group singlehandedly.

Laxbrey pulled a dagger from his belt and bent down beside Robin and Gisbourne. "Swear to me that my lesson was learnt. I have a talent for knowing when people are lying."

"We are about the be slaughtered!" Robin said to him in disbelief.

"Swear to me!"

Gisbourne surprised Robin. "I swear!" he cried out. "I tire of holding on to such anger. It was just easier to be angry and blame Hood than to admit that she did not wish to be with me."

These words blotted out the desperate sounds of the fighting as Robin eyes grew wide in understanding. "And I have no right to be mad at him," he finally told Laxbrey who stared at each of them deeply.

In one swift motion their bindings were cut and both men leapt forward to defend their once captor.

As predicted, the fight was simple. Dimwitted guards were no match for two men who had be forced to withhold anger, a protective best friend and a smart crazy man who yelled encouragement from the side. His cheers were practically louder than any noise the fight had to offer, including the satisfied crunch of the final man falling to the forest floor.

"Thank you," he said happily, patting both Robin and Gisbourne on the shoulder. This seemingly congratulatory pat proved to be so much more when given from the likes of Laxbrey. Suddenly the forest was moving about as both men grew suddenly very tired. A small pinprick on the place where Laxbrey had touched them suddenly felt a deep burning sensation and everything was growing dark.

Upon waking, they found this letter.

**_"Remember what I said, for they are more than the ramblings of a smart crazy man._**

**_I do believe that you have earned yourselves some bacon."_**

The bacon beside the fireplace was still warm, indicating that they must have just missed seeing that damned man leave.

Then there were alone.

No words were spoken. That would have been short of a miracle.

But Gisbourne gathered his weapons, took his bacon and simply left. All the while Robin made no attempt to stop him.

This was progress. No fight was called.

I thought it rather boring but as long as so-called progress was made, who am I to complain?


	44. Locked in the Dark

That feeling of the fight never truly dies down. No matter how small the job, we all still feel that excitement and thrill. It is different for everyone. I always found that all senses seemed greatly exaggerated as sounds grow louder and sights become brighter. The same could be said for Ben as that smile of freedom shone. Once again, he was in the Merry Men and he loved every second of it. Obviously he had been back in England a while but things had been different. So much time had been spent simply lying about doing nothing more than thinking. That had worked well for the likes of me but far too many gang members were what I like to call men of the hunt. Folk like this would never be content with simply using their brains. Not that there was many of those to speak of. There was something about sneaking about in the night that was irresistible to them. It had been so long since Ben had been assigned to a night thieving job. It had always been his favourite of tasks. Stealth was one of his best outlaw qualities and he loved to show it off as he easily snuck through impossible boundaries to retrieve the most impressive of spoils.

On that particular night, he had been paired with Little John. This was rather a negative point for Ben, as the man did not contain a single stealth bone in his body. His great purpose was swinging about that quarterstaff about while Ben darted into the Norman households. Ben would never let anything; including John bring down his excitement on such a night. John however, seemed to be doing everything possible to see negatives. Such great amounts of running were achieved with deep huffing and the sight of a man who seemed close to dropping down in exhaustion. "Come on John," Ben called back as he sprinted around him. "Is it possible that you have grown even more useless this past year?" Normally a witty quip would be given but John was unable to form words. Ben saw this as a chance to continue to belittle him. "Do you ever worry that Amelia will tire of your uselessness as run off to a better man? Isn't it exhausting watching everyone else be so much better than you? I say, even Much is faster than you!" That last insult resulted in John's head suddenly snapping up and Ben could see a sudden burst of energy in the man.

Nottingham seemed a different place at night. Gone was the bustle and business of the day. There was only silence. That silence was what we yearned for. Ben's eyes grew quickly accustomed to the lack of light as he decided on the target. Lord Duningham had always been a personal favourite, simply because Ben enjoyed a challenge. Each door would be bolted shut and bars were placed over the windows the instant the sun began to set. After robbing him blind many a time, all precautions were used to attempt to stop us. Nothing ever would. Ben had always considered himself an expert with breaking through any sort of bondage. Those bars were sturdy in almost all aspects but Ben had long ago formed a mock key, which would open the lock to one of the lower bars. This gained access to the cellar. It was a requirement to steal three bottles of wine and pass them up to John. Thomas and Mark refused to share and Martha thought it good for business to have this new wine for her few richer clients. Then it was back to the task. There was one stairway that lead up to the main foyer. Lord Duningham always had at least one guard on patrol and this was the hardest part of the night. Sneaking through the shadows was the only option and success lay upon the guard looking in the wrong direction. Any slight sound could ruin everything. Luckily, Ben was an expert. His small size served him well as crept along the shadows. The smallest of creaks was omitted as one creaky floorboard betrayed him. Completely frozen, Ben watched the guard desperately. Thankfully, he could not be bothered to look away from whatever blank spot fascinated him so. Ben did not dare to let out a sigh of relief for fear of the sound but that would definitely have been the time to commit such an action. The large banister of the stairway served him well as bent as low as he could to climb up the stairs on all fours. Thankfully, he knew the exact spots that would cause a follow up creak and avoided them at all costs. There would be one more guard the top of the stairs who patrolled up and down. Once again, silence was crucial. All Ben had to do was wait until he was far enough down one side of the hall with his back turned and Ben could openly race across the hall, silently open a door, dart through and silently close it again. It was quite a task but Ben prided himself on never getting caught. Sadly, it was too difficult to time his return to the hallway so that he would avoid the guard so this manor only allow one room to be stolen from. Once this was achieved, he would easily take down the bars from the inside, throw his spoils down to John and climb the rest of the way.

Sadly, tonight would not be so easy. It took minimal time for Ben's eye to adjust to the darkness but there was always still that small point in which he was partially blind. This occurred right after he silently closed the door. His eyesight may have been impaired, but his hearing was perfect. And he heard a rustle. This was not a good sound. Only a fellow person could make such a sound.

Drawing his sword without a sound, he prepared for a fight. There was not a lot of time to prepare. He was suddenly shoved forward by a mighty shove in his back. In the nick of time, he dodged what could have been a near fatal blow to his head. He knew that he would need full conciseness to defeat this enemy. The sound of a key turning in the lock informed Ben that he was locked in the dark with this villain. Dare I say, I think he missed the quiet safety of thinking time.

None the less, he fought bravely. Both men understood the need for silence as swords were long since forgotten. The loud clanging of these weapons would have given them away instantly. Instead, both fought with immense skill in silence with nothing more than fists and any form of physical fighting they could use in an attempt to knock out their opponent. Ben knew why he did not want to kill anyone. It was against the outlaw code. But he knew not why this opponent did not want to kill him. In between hits, he used his quickly adjusting eyesight to study his opponent. He could see nothing but a figure in black.

And so the fighting continued. Ben could feel deep bruises forming all over his body but he had no time to feel deep pain for them. Again and again the punches flew as neither would accept defeat.

Both froze as the doorknob shook. Someone was attempting to gain entry. It seemed they had forgotten silence. The shaking was replaced by banging as the guard realised that he had been locked out. The banding doubled as the guard from downstairs joined him. "Get outside!" one yelled at the other, "in case they try to get out of the window."

Rushing to the window, they saw that it was too late. A small group of guards had already formed and one was running off to fetch others who patrolled the streets of Nottingham.

Soon they would be hopelessly surrounded.

The situation seemed hopeless but Ben still had his wits about him. Quickly taking advantage of his opponent's distraction, he pulled back the hood. Stumbling backward, he saw Luke.

"What?" Ben stuttered as the shock took over his previous wits. For his part, Luke said nothing, choosing simply to glare at the other.

"What are you doing here? Dressed like that? I was not aware the Sheriff allowed such side activities."

Continuing his deep glare, Luke said, "Lord Duningham has angered the Sheriff. Since he loves his material possessions, I thought this would be the best way to punish him."

"You thought it easier to go this danger than simply kill him publically? From what I hear that is all you seem to do nowadays." With a gasp came the realisation. "You miss this don't you? You miss being an outlaw so you are just trying to recapture the memory!"

"Shut up! You think I miss this chaos? I am living the life. People jump on edge when I enter a room. I finally have power."

Something about him was not convincing. Avoiding eye contact was a definite sign of a Merry Man, past or present, lying and Luke's eyes darted about, desperately avoiding Ben.

The banging at the door continued and the panic returned. Guard at the bottom of the window seemed to have doubled in number. It seemed that Duningham's extremely unbreakable doors proved to be a curse to him as no one was able to break in. The many different keys about the manor resulted in the other keys being futile. Ben remained calm, telling Luke "John is outside. He will go and get help. So I guess that we had better sit tight."

Apparently Luke did not know the meaning of the term 'sit tight' as he was unable to stop desperately pacing. All the while he was muttering anxiously inaudible words of panic. "I don't know what you're so worried about. I thought you would just order them back and they would cower," Ben said in a sarcastic tone. This gained him a glare but no words.

Finally the pacing seemed to tire him and he sunk down beside Ben. He sighed as the silence continued. "So not that I care, but how is everyone?" he said in a bored tone. This tone could not mask the small amount of desperation. Ben could tell instantly that Luke missed them. This could be his chance to bring back his old friend.

"Everyone is great. No drastic change. Except, you should feel slightly lucky, you are missing that special time of year when love is in the air."

Luke snorted. He had always been the main member who hated all things romantic. This had been what had bonded the two in the past year when Ben had been young and immature. Women had only recently become an accepted thing to Ben and in all honesty, he still struggled to see the point in them.

"I'm sure that I was present for that. I blame it partially for the need to flee and spy."

"If only you knew. Everything with Robin was just the beginning. To be fair, quite a few of the mini problems are ones you have already seen. For instance, we have seen that odd relationship forming between Lilly and Roger ever since she came to Sherwood. I still struggle to understand it. She could easily do better. Especially now she has come out of her shell and gained confidence. She has progressed even further now. Do you remember how she always just tied her hair back? Well one morning we sat down for breakfast and saw that she had practically cut it all off! Not all of it obviously. But it is drastically shorter. It's brilliant. The hair was the final turning point. Now she can completely hold her own against anyone in the gang. And of course, this created a change for Roger. He would never notice a submissive woman."

"Great. So now the romance continues. And you seriously think I miss that life?"

"I never said that it continued. Only that it is growing. Things will get interesting on the day Will notices that his best friend is beginning to pursue his sister."

A dark smile grew on Luke's face. Not as dark as those of previous, but simply a dark good honoured smile as drama had always amused him.

"But then again, Amelia and John are still sickening in love. About a week ago, Amelia had somehow persuaded a group of us into accompanying her to the markets. I still know not how she did it. I guess we all have a soft spot for her. You remember." Luke mumbled something but it was obvious that this topic was making him miss her, along with everyone else. "Well she was practically dragging us all about, chattering on about whatever trivial though flew into her head while we all politely nodded along. It was rather interesting to see how much work she does for the Merry Men. My arms ached almost instantly due to the amount of food I was carrying. I guess we all take it for granted that food just appears. It almost resolved me to accompany her more often, to help her in the smallest way possible. But you know me. And I do not think that she dislikes the work. I think she likes to fell needed. She considers us all family you know. Anyway, there we all were at the market, when some bastard comes stumbling out of the tavern and starts talking to her. And the things he were saying were positively ghastly. Well, he did not have much time to continue. John was by her side instantly. And you know how John gets. Almost as if he has two personalities. On a normal day, he will be as docile as a kitten. But as soon as someone he cares for is threatened, he is bloody dangerous. The man in question was quickly on the ground and Amelia saw it as a big romantic gesture. It is rather sickening actually. They are acting like young childhood sweethearts again. And it is on going. Feel privileged that you have not been around for that."

It seemed that Luke felt far from privileged. He missed these talks with Ben. He had never known his own Mother and over the years he had known her, Amelia had shown many qualities that he felt a Mother should possess. Ben had spoken of no one helping her but Luke had secretly been helping her a lot during his time in camp this year. Previously, it had been Matthew who had always helped her. Many a comment had been flung about Matthew being the good twin, as people asked how Luke had never learnt kindness from his brother. Luke had taken these comments to heart. This was back when he listened to his conscience and felt regret of betraying us. In his own twisted way, helping Amelia had tipped the scales slightly back so that he did not feel so guilty. During this time, he had grown close to Amelia, constantly teasing her over her love for John. Deep down, he had always loved to hear the story of how they meet and how their love grew. And of course, she loved to tell it. Unbeknownst to her, Luke had recognised a description of one of the horrid men who had been cruel to her due to her appearance. One of his first acts upon gaining power was to punish the said man. He would never be cruel to anyone again.

But he pushed these feelings aside. "And I suppose that Martha and Thomas are the same?"

Ben paused, "well yes and no. Between the pair of them, there are no problems to speak of. But between the three…"

"Three?"

"You forget Martha's son Oliver. He is a good kid when he wants to be. The trouble is during those times when he wishes to be bad. Which is often. He remained oblivious to the cruelty of his Father, probably due to how well Martha protected him. Hence it took Thomas a fair bit of time to win the lad over. What didn't help was Mark's unknown power. Who would have thought that he would be such a natural with children? Within a matter or days, Oliver thought the world of him. And at the time, Thomas and Mark were having a minor tiff over something. Nothing serious but serious enough that Mark thought it funny to inform Oliver to be as cruel to Thomas as he could. And the lad was good at it. Martha never suspected a thing. It created some interesting circumstance where Thomas sounded almost childish, blabbering on about how unfair a mere child was being to him. It was rather fun to tease him about it. But eventually Oliver came clean and Thomas won him over regardless. It seems that the pair have a weakness for cards and, against Martha's wishes; Thomas has been teaching him how to gamble. Nothing serious mind you. They beat items such as berries."

Luke was once again feel reminiscent. Nothing to do with Thomas. The pair had never really interacted. Nor had he and Mark. Strangely, Luke found himself missing Martha. Once again, he had not spent a great deal of time with her. There was one occasion that stood out in his mind. Spying was not Luke's first choice of how to deal with his grief. Initially, his plan had been to drink until the pain subsided. This hadn't lasted long. The first night was fine. The morning after was not. He had awoken to find himself on the floor of the tavern, covered in his own sick. Martha had stayed with him almost all of the day as she cleaned him up, fetched him anything he needed and offered many a word of encouragement. This left him feeling refreshed. By the time the sun had set, he was ready to drink again. But she had refused to serve him. "This isn't what you need," she had said. "You need your friends." Luke would like to say that those words had been a wake up call. Sadly, their effect was only just beginning to hit home. He had needed his friends, instead he had betrayed them.

"How in everyone by the way?" Luke said, faking boredom.

"Yes everyone else has found some other form of outlet. Most focus on the clue. Mainly Allen. I think that he has placed unnecessary pressure on himself. Having always been called 'the brains of the group,' he feels that it is up to him to solve it entirely himself and he feels guilty for not having done so sooner." Honestly, Ben was right about this, though I would never admit it. No one dared mention my brains, or lack of them apparently at this time as it was an extremely sensitive subject for me. I wonder if he missed me. I can only assume what Luke was thinking for his reaction to every ones stories. I was told about many an event and it was easy to piece together what must have been going through his head. But it is never easy to assume something when ones self is in question. We were never particularly close. He had been in the gang from the beginning, which did bond us in some way. At some point in life I may have called him friend. But I had barley had a thought of him since he left. I hadn't had the time, what with the bloody clue.

"Michael has been learning to fight," Ben continued, causing great laughter from Luke. Ben also let out a slight chuckle. "That is something you probably should have stuck around to see. No one ever mentions his lack of skill but I think he finally felt like that must be what everyone thought of him. It is fair to say that he possesses the least amount of skill out of anyone in the gang and he joined more out of luck than talent. But we never thought any less of him for it. We think a little less of him now, but only because it was rather amusing, watching him fling a sword about."

"And Robin?" Luke asked. "I trust that things are not progressing well with Keighley."

Ben sighed. "I am afraid that Robin had taken a rather leap backwards when it comes to relationships. It is not his fault. It is Michael's actually. Friar Tuck came to see us, which of course, nothing special. The thing that was odd was the way that he spoke with Michael for what seemed an age. The two have barley spoken previously. I had nothing better to do so was watching them closely while pretending to be absorbed in the clue. To the untrained eye, it appeared that Tuck was clasping at Michael's wrist but I saw something pass between hands."

"It was a letter I though. I was too far to make out the seal. Michael bade Tuck farewell and saw fit to race off to his cabin. Unfortunately for him, I had not been the only paying attention."

"What have you got there aye?" Mark said as he leapt out at Michael. He quickly protected the letter from Mark but did not take into account that, where there is Mark, there is often Thomas who for his part, leapt from hiding and snatched it away. Now you must understand, everyone was there. The entire gang, save for you obviously." These words seemed to cut at Luke. Ben pretended not to notice and continued. "Michael obviously did not wish for the letter to be seen in public eye so he fought for it back. 'It is from my Mother," he cried but it was to no avail. I suspect that the content of the letter meant nothing to the pair. They just enjoyed the humiliation of others." A stray gust of wind caught them at a time when no one had a firm grip. The letter went flying across camp and right beside Allen's feet. Picking it up, he recognised the handwriting instantly. For he knew the hand of his own cousin."

"Marian?" Luke said in shock. "She has been writing to Michael? I suppose that Robin was not happy in the slightest"

Ben angrily raised a hand. "Kindly let me finish before questions. But yes, Allen thought just as you did. He pretended to know nothing, simply asking what the letter was. Michael once again stated that it was from his Mother and Allen held out the letter to be given back. The trouble was that Much was the one to offer to take it back to Michael."

Luke sighed as he could see the trouble. "Oh Much," he said. "Why do you try and help?"

"Much has actually been acting rather favorably of late. The trouble is that when we wished for to act so submissively, we never took into account how we would miss the old Much. That horrid Keighley really has ruined him. I think he was the only gang member who had true feelings for her. And that definitely includes Robin.'

"But back to the story, Much also recognised the handwriting. You recall how when she was here, Marian was daring to teach the buffoon how to write? Well these lessons had barley taught him a thing save for the way in which he could recognise her handwriting. He spoke out of course, never once considered mixed company. "I never knew you were writing to Marian," he said in the loudest voice possible. Everyone was instantly listening, mainly Robin and Keighley. Robin leapt up to snatch the letter away. You could almost see the fury building.'

"Michael was practically shaking. Robin's voice was strange. To the untrained ear it was calm but we could hear the fury as he said, "You have been in contact with Marian this past year?" Michael nodded, gulping. Robin was not done. "You mean to say that you have known her address?" Once again, Michael nodded. "And you never once saw fit to inform me of this?" I say it was lucky that Michael had been learning how to fight. Robin was seconds away from violence. Allen was also leaping up and was instantly at Robin's side for the chance that this violence boiled over. Calm words were instantly pouring forth but Robin was hearing none of them. "I want to see the others," Robin yelled, all traces of calmness gone. Tuck joined Allen with the soothing words but Michael was already half way back to his cabin to fetch Robin the rest. Robin meanwhile was fuming and not listened to a word from Tuck or Allen. Michael returned with a box of astonishing size. Robin snatched it and paused, saying, "She claimed she wanted no ties to England. I see now she only wanted no ties to me" Michael stammered on about how 'it wasn't like that," but now Robin was the one was already gone.'

"Then there was silence. Roger told the new members to not be alarmed, she always had this effect on him. Keighley had been silent over the whole affair and was now glaring off into the distance. Everyone instantly busied themselves with whatever task was closest to them.'

"Allen was the only member who dared approach Robin. He was instantly greeted with elaborate theories of how unhappy Marian must be as apparently the letters were not, 'the words of a happy person.' In all fairness, I slightly agree with Robin. In the multitudes of letters, there was not one mention of Robin. Not one. With all of the history between the pair, there should have been hundreds. And what's more, everyone else had been spoken of. Even you Luke. Actually you had been mentioned a few times. Well you were friends after all. Initially it was all the words of a physician, as you two always loved that area. She then goes on to thoroughly disapprove of your actions of current." These words hit hard but Ben continued on as if he had noticed nothing. "Robin had decided that Marian must have gone out of her way to forget him which could only mean that she still wanted to be with him. Apparently her language had also changed. For one thing, she would never use the word 'wonderful' yet it appeared in almost every second sentence. It seemed that she was going out of her way to set up this image of her happiness which is obviously false.'

"The theories went on and on. Allen hated to crush his dreams but eventually something had to be said. He finally said, "Robin. If she were as unhappy as you say, do you not believe that she would simply return?" Robin ignored this, continuing to read and muttering about her pride. Allen then did something rather dangerous. He tore away the letters in Robin's hand as well as the box. There was a dark look in Robin's eyes as he demanded them back. There was yelling.'

"Allen finally silenced him with a long speech that I struggled to eavesdrop to. Its main points included points such as, "You let your emotions control you and see what you become? I can already see how the next few weeks are going to go. You will obsess over this and conclude her unhappiness. This is not fair on anyone. You will raise people's hopes as they imagine her returning to us. You will send yourself through an emotional spiral. And far be it from me to defend Keighley, but it isn't fair on her to watch you when you are like this. If Marian wished to return, she would. Now kindly spare us all of this worthless drama." This was all said with great passion and quite a hint of anger. It seemed that the leadership roles had been reversed as Robin was now taking orders. But thankfully, he listened. No more mention was given again."

Luke stretched as he supposed the story must have been coming to an end. "And you seriously think I miss that? All of those pointless problems?" You people need to take a good hard look at yourselves. I cannot believe that it took me so long to get away from you people."

The door crashed open and both men were instantly prepared to fight.

Thankfully, they were not greeted by guards but rather by Little John. This was still no relief for Luke as John seemed ready to beat him. "Leave him John," Ben said as he pulled at his arm. "We have to get out of here."

With one last glare from John, the two ran.

Luke was left alone. He felt no danger from any guards that John had possibly left behind. After all, he had superiority to them.

Pushing aside all feelings, he prepared to leave.

There was work to be done at the castle.

They had captured Laxbrey. And the torture was all prepared.


	45. Chaos

Heroes are not always those who we initially think.

This entry is in honour of Much. A friend we never really respected the way we should have.

.

.

It pains me to think of how none of us had the time for him recently. Nothing is worse than being a man in un-retaliated love, as we had all seen. But what made it worse, was the way that we had shown no support. At least in the past, Robin had always had the gang around him. I suppose the only excuse is that we all underestimated his true feelings. In our defense, it was Much! The man never particularly had true feelings, unless it was pheasant or something else frivolous that lasted a day. So when Keighley broke his heart, we all thought the feelings would pass. Initially, we had been there for him, but I suspect this was more for the purpose of the gang grouping against Keighley rather than grouping together to help a fallen member.

Keighley meanwhile, seemed to be doing everything she could to make everyone miserable. Hell heath no fury like a woman scorned. Never before had I seen a woman more silently furious every moment of the day. Every little action seemed to be relevant cause from a deathly glare. This glare was the kindest thing she had to offer. Her cruel words were often thrown about and it was best to flee when she was in a violent mood.

Poor Much had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had never been one for looking where he was going and had the misfortune of bumping into her ever so slightly as she stormed about camp. This seemed to be at her breaking point of the day. "For goodness sake Much," she roared, and I do mean roared. "For one moment of your measly life can you not be desperately pathetic? Why are you even here? Do you really think you are helping to save England? You are just the camp joke! Everyone just puts up with you for a little comic relief now and then. For the rest of the bloody time we are simply putting up with you and desperately finding ways to not punch your stupid face. No one wants you here, especially me. So why don't you just get lost?"

Each word was as if she was driving a dagger deeper and deeper into the poor mans stomach. We were all to shocked to utter a word. Almost the instant she paused for breath, Much had fled.

The look on his face brought her out of the rage. It was only then that she realised exactly how far she had reached and she looked horrified. This did not save her from the fury building inside everyone.

Sadly, Much saw none of us. All he saw was his friends sitting by and letting the woman he loved yell about her hatred for him. What's more, she claimed that there was hatred in all of us. In this confused and horrified state, Much believed her words. He knew that we all liked to tease him but he had never considered hatred. Memories were against us as he thought back to many a cruel word that had been thrown about. When grouped together, he concluded that we must in fact hate him.

He walked for half the night, in no apparent direction. There was nowhere for him to go.

Being so deep in thoughts of depression had many drawbacks. Namely, the lack of senses as Much heard nothing of an approaching figure until it was too late. He barley felt the sudden pain in his head as he fell to darkness so quickly after its occurrence.

His last thoughts were of us, and whether we would feel anything at all.

Thankfully, he woke.

It must have been the cold that woke him as he skin practically prickled. His eyes met a dark and dirty room. There was minimal light. The only source was the small bars on the door, which let in just enough light to inspect his surroundings. His eyes barley noticed the dirt or mud. Nor did they notice the lack of windows or other escape routes. He only saw the shelves. The shelves full of torture equipment. Sudden struggling proved futile. He was bound tightly to a chair in the centre of the room. Panic began to rise as he moved desperately in any attempt to break free.

Sudden deep laughter from behind caused Much to be suddenly still. He dared not even turn his head to see the monster that would do this. Footsteps were the only sound. And then Terrowyn was standing in front of him.

"Well it is about time," he said in that deep voice. "I knew that you were weak but I did not suspect that such a small hit would have such an effect. That is why I picked you. Your weakness. I felt like an easy task."

For once in his life, Much at least feigned bravery. "Who are you exactly?" he asked slowly, his head tilted to the side in obvious confusion. For all I know, Much could have legitamently forgotten the man. After all, we had encountered practically no interaction with him since the initial failed kidnapping.

Bravery was rewarded with a strong blow to the lower stomach. Much winced in pain but stayed true to his new found bravery. "Seriously? Who are you? We haven't exactly seen you have we? And you first came to England what, five months ago? What have you been doing? Pretty useless if you ask me?"

"Oh contrare foolish outlaw," he said, all the while continuing that eerie bored tone. "I have been everywhere. You simply have not seen me. Think back to things you thought only your pathetic gang knows. On the day you first met Juliana, you never check under the seats. I had hidden compartment installed them and lay quite comfortably listening. From there I followed you back to camp. But do not fear, I did not tell Prince John this rather pointless information. What good is it for you all to have no home? How would spy on you then? I was then in Juliana's room when Hood and the blonde friend came to visit her. Oh do not give me that look, I had bedded her long before that moment. The party that followed the meeting was rather interesting wasn't it? That whore Keighley sure got upset when Hood was with Juliana. Well I was the one that put something extra in Hood's drink to speed the process. I cannot take account for the months that followed but I can take credit for beginning the whole affair. It suited me to have added spies around Hood you see. And then there was the ball. Who do you think allowed you all to the servants quarters? I even handed platters to you all, in disguise of course. I was also the one who ransacked the Church in Derby after that pointless spy tactic. Yes, I have been everywhere, you just never thought to look."

"I get it alright?" Much said. Terrowyn looked proud at the effect he had created but this pride was short lived as Much continued. "I get that you are a coward who hides in the shadows and watches everyone else take action."

This gained him a hard back handed slap. The large rings on Terrowyn's fingers made deep impact and Much could feel a small trickle of blood running down his cheek. This created an odd excitement in Terrowyn as his finger caught the drop of blood. His eyes seemed full of a horrid sort of excitement. "What do you want?" Much said, clearly deeply on edge an unnerved.

"I want to know exactly what you have all learnt about the clue." This did not appear to be true. It could be that his bored tone applied to all aspects of life but he definitely seemed to be extremely uninterested in this claim.

"We know nothing. Same as you."

"Well I do not believe you. So I suppose that I best find some way of convincing you to talk. This is apparently rather easy to do isn't it? Apparently, having you shut up is the hard bit." These words reminded Much of the events of earlier in the night and for once, he was almost glad to be tied up. Anything to avoid his from the memory. He would soon regret these words. Terrowyn finally showed a slight hint of emotion. Sadly for Much, this emotion occurred while he looked up and down his shelves, eyeing up each horrid device. It was an unexplainable emotion. Almost a mix of dark happiness, anticipation, evil and some kind of twisted love. The love of the pain he was about to inflict. "Whatever happens tonight, I do think that I shall win. If you tell me everything you know, then I will have the information I seek. If you do not, than I will have set an example for Hood. And you shall never forget me again."

Finally a weapon was chosen. "Since you enjoy talking so, let us see exactly how wide that mouth of yours can go." The weapon was called a choke pear. I had only heard of it previously. Its appearance slightly resembled a warped arrow but I suppose that was supposed to be dramatic irony. The basis of it was a long metal rod. Three handles protruded form bottom half and slightly resembled the way certain arrows favored having feather towards the ends of their stems in such a fashion. The part that was mean for the victims mouth was made of jagged pieces of metal, in the shape of crescent moons.

A long pause was inflicted, in the hopes of prolonging that moment of terror.

Nothing could prepare Much for inflamed pain that followed. The sharp edges pulled at the corners of his mouth until he could taste blood. A lot of it. Then the pulling worsened. I can make no attempt to describe the agony he felt as the skin around his mouth began to tear, blood gushing down his chin. It began with little more than a discomfort. No one enjoys the taste of metal and something fashioning ones mouth in such a way. Then the handles were pushed. A small tingling was the next feeling before the sudden agony of tearing. Then came the blood. And there was plenty of it. His tears mixed in with this and were lost in the dark pool that gushed down to the dudgeon floor. It seemed never ending and even the act of crying out in pain was snatched away as no noise could possibly escape the metal.

Finally, the handles were released and Much's whole body jerked forward at the sudden release. "Now," Terrowyn said, ever so calmly. "What can you tell me about the clue?"

The only sound possible was a faint moan of upmost despair.

Then he looked down. He looked down at his own blood.

Terrowyn's long sought after screams were finally released.

He relished every moment.

.

.

.

Mirrored screams occurred in the very same dudgeons as Laxbrey underwent the same sick torture. He was let off easily. The Sheriff may have been evil but he no stomach for such an act. He was nothing like Terrowyn in this area. Everyone was so caught up in their own acts that they spared no thought for what must be going on in other cells.

Everyone except Luke that is. Gisbourne had somehow been lucky enough to avoid such a situation and sent his right hand man as a representative. Luke hated every second. The worst part was the knowledge that Much was a few cells away, going through the same thing and he was doing nothing.

He took advantage of the Sheriff taking a slight break. "My Lord," he said quietly, "I think there must not be a great deal of air down here or something as I find myself feeling rather faint. Would you kindly excuse me briefly?" It seemed that feigning sickness in such an occasion was a wise move. The Sheriff simply flicked a hand to release him. We all knew him as a horribly evil man but we had never realised his deep fear of blood. Having so much of it about put him on edge. Yet he had a task to do, and he would never allow himself to seem weak compared to his enemy, Terrowyn. Ever since he had arrived in England, the two men had been fighting for favour of Prince John. The Sheriff could see that Terrowyn wished to replace him in the Prince's favour and his master plans were helping this tremendously. So he continued with torture that even he thought unnecessary. Thankfully, this fear in him proved favorable for Luke who was easily excused.

What startled Luke was not the horrid torture he had just witnessed or the terrible screams he had heard. What startled him was how he felt nothing.

This feeling of nothingness spurred him on in a desperate attempt to clutch at some form of humanity. From his outlaw days, he could recall that Luke and Will always robbed the treasuries on this night. From the moon position, he reasoned that they would still be in the North Wing.

Walking briskly, he attempted to appear as uninterested as possible in a futile attempt to reason with himself that he cared not if Much and Laxbrey lived or died.

His previous assumption was correct as he saw Will and Roger hunched over treasure chests. His heart panged a little as he thought back to when he would always be with them on this night. Pushing those feelings, he knew it was time to make his presence known. "Ladies, I suggest you listen to me if you want to save your friend and all of England."

Will had his sword in his hand but luckily Roger was the calmer of the two and had slight reasoning. "Why would we listen to the likes of you?"

"Because Terrowyn is torturing Much for the fun of it and the Sheriff is doing the same to Laxbrey until someone solves the clue so their plan can progress."

There was an instant look of danger on the pair.

"No one hurts Much. Except for us," Roger growled.

Roger's distraction served Will well as he leapt forward and slammed Luke against the wall. "How do we know that this is not some kind of trick?"

"You are wasting time," Luke puffed. The shock of it all had taken away his breath. "I can lead you."

"Well then I suggest you start running," Will snarled.

And they ran. Never before had the dudgeons seemed so far away. But they heard screams early on. The castle seemed full of them. It was unclear of who the scream belonged to. Most probably, it was both.

"Wait!" Luke said, coming to a sudden stop. "Which dudgeon do you want directions to? They are close enough to hear each other if one yells hard enough but you need completely different routes to reach them."

Will surprised them all. "Our friend first. England later."

"The Sheriff will not be as 'talented' as Terrowyn," Roger said, beginning to run.

Both men stopped when they saw that Luke no longer followed them.

"I can't," he stuttered. "I have my position to think of."

Roger did not respond with words. He spat at the floor by Luke's feet. "That is what you are doing to our friend." They did not remain to be disgusted by him any longer. Luke called out directions to them but they were barley listening. It was easy enough to follow the screams.

The door crashed open and they could not believe what they saw. At least they were not too late. In horror, they saw the only reason for this was that Terrowyn had been struggling to find Much's mouth under the fresh coating of blood. Relieved, they saw Much was still alive but in a terrible state. There was no chance that he was aware of their presence as he rocked back and forth in the chair, eyes staring into nothingness.

Terrowyn's eyes only lit further at the sight of fresh victims. Having broken his previous one, he had wondered what he would do with the rest of a perfectly good night. But he did not have the same element of surprise that he had previously had with Much. These men outnumbered him and were fully aware of the danger. But Terrowyn had been trained to fight for most of his life. Neither of the Merry Men stood a chance.

Both attacked together, thinking to confuse him but he easily turned about, defending himself while forcing each man back. Each thrust was quickly met with an even stronger retaliation as he moved at an incredible pace. Each blow was also unbelievably strong and followed up with a series of similar strong blows. One swift swing narrowly missed both men but did result in both losing his footing and falling back against the wall. In their way had been shelves of horrid contraptions. They had no clue about their true use but what they did know was the success of the pain they could cause as they fell physically on ones body. Will had lost his sword in the fall and Roger's was long gone. Terrowyn stood over them, victorious and with each mans sword pointing at their necks. "I always found it poetic to kill a man with his own sword. Then again, I see that you gentlemen have found some new toys for us to play with. Which for you prefer?" The shock settled in as they realised that he was waiting for an answer. Death or torture.

Suddenly, a long metal rod protruded with a bloody crack from Terrowyn's shoulder. In a sudden cry of pain, he fell to his knees, revealing Much, standing behind him, rod still in hand.

In another matter of moments, Terrowyn was on the ground.

No look of surprise and relieved wonder had ever been more deserving. For that one moment, Much was close to a God.

Then they were reminded of his very mortal self as he staggered, the pain returning.

Roger was instantly at his side supporting him and Will was at the other.

"I've got him! You go and find Laxbrey!" Will bolted away and was crashing on the door of every cell. Distant calls told that Will could find nothing. They had forgotten that noise could be heard clearly from the other cells. Laxbrey had been silently moved during the fight. "Get Robin!" Roger called back, "he should still be in the East wing. Hurry!"

Much suddenly turned limp and Roger became desperate with worry. "Come on mate, you're ok," he said, holding back tears.

Much's eyes opened ever so slightly and if his mouth was visible, Roger could have sworn he was smiling. "You called me mate," he said with a slight hint of happiness fighting through the pain.

"I will deny it to everyone after this moment but yes Much, you are my Mate. Don't you ever doubt it alright?"

Much was gone again.

Desperation gave Roger strength that he did not normally possess as he carried Much down the corridor and out into the main area of the castle. Stopping suddenly, he peered into the darkness. Through this, he could see a large throng of guards.

He thought nothing of them. He only thought of getting his friend to safety.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, Will had thankfully avoided the guards, ignoring his exhaustion and raced to find us. Robin and I had been enjoying a quiet night of good old fashioned thieving.

That was soon over.

We were greeted by the image of our friend in clear despair while he covered in blood. We did not know whose at the time. He was barley audible through the panic but the whole story poured forth.

Now I was at despair. "Laxbrey could be anywhere in the castle? What are we going to do?" Robin was deep in thought but there was no possible solution. I continued to verbalize every problem we faced. "He could break any second. Then the Sheriff will know the clue. The England is lost. Then-"

'For Gods sake Allen, will you please be silent!" Will yelled at me. It seemed that the events of the night had finally caught up with him. "We will find him. He has to be around somewhere."

"He is in the main banquet hall." We all turned to this mysterious voice on our side. No one could quite believe it when we saw the man who had addressed us was Gisbourne. "It is a large enough room so the Sheriff hoped that sound would not travel and give away his whereabouts. Also, Laxbrey had just been tortured and could not be moved very far."

Could anyone doubt us for being suspicious? "Why would you help us?" Robin growled.

"You really see me as a villain don't you Hood? This clue will only bring about more pain if it falls into the wrong hands. Besides, I have grown fond of Laxbrey. In a strange way."

"We don't have time for this!" I cried. Normally I am always on board for an interesting relationship realisation but time was moving along at an incredible rate. For once, I led the pack as we ran for the banquet hall. Gisbourne remained behind, also thinking of his position. I thought nothing of this. We were lucky enough to get one good deed out of the man.

I thank the Lord that the banquet halls were situated closer than the dudgeons. Else we may have been too late. The Sheriff had not even had time to set up his torture weapons.

Robin leapt forward, sword at the ready. "Step away from him Sheriff!" Will and I finally caught up and stood as close as we dared. It was clear that chaos was about to come.

I think that the Sheriff was all too happy to step away. Once again, he really did not have the stomach for this sort of thing. We were all at a slight loss of what to do. We had expected so much more.

The sound of a taut bowstring brought us back to our senses. Nothing in life is ever easy.

Terrowyn had staggered out onto the balcony. Bloody was still pouring from the wound but he had been trained to withstand such pain and still maintain perfect aim. He reminded us of this as he told Robin, "I never miss Hood. We have that in common. Now drop your weapons. Drop them!" We were forced to oblige.

The Sheriff hated the way that things were happening. He had absolutely no power in the situation and he blamed those damn weapons of which he had no knowledge. Leaving them behind, he pulled a trusty dagger form his belt and held it so close to Laxbrey's neck that blood began to steadily drip down and add to his already hopelessly stained shirt. "Enough of these blasted toys. Tell us what you know or England's hero dies. Followed by his men. Followed by you."

I cannot explain what happened next. For I do not know myself.

Somehow, the room was suddenly filled with a dark smoke and no one could see a thing. Voices filled the room as everyone tried desperately to scatter to safety. Terrowyn had lost all sense of calm and fired blindly, yelling inaudible Saracens words all the while. I did not need to understand their meaning to be terrified. Many voices blended together over the chaos but I distinctly heard someone call for another man called Graham. I could have sworn that this voice belonged to Luke.

The next thing I knew, there was a hand that grabbed the back of my shirt and was pulling me backwards. I fought furiously but to no effect.

Finally, I saw light and it burned at my eyes. I could see nothing and was too deep in coughing to care. My throat burned all the while and I felt like my skin was burnt all over.

I had never been more thrilled to see more gang members as Ben, Keighley, Mark, Bryce and Michael were helping to pull Robin and Will out of the cursed room.

"Did you have to fight so hard," Thomas said, punching me. It was a light punch to be fair. "You really hurt me dammit so next time you can save yourself!" In a sudden burst of relief, I found that I was hugging him.

'Where is Laxbrey?" Will asked and once again I was panicked. Smoke was finally clearing in the hall and we could make out the remains. The Sheriff was lying on the floor, groaning as a stray arrow had caught him in the knee. Little John was up on the balcony beside a limp Terrowyn. "Should I kill him? He called down to us. "Please let me kill him."

"If he has killed Laxbrey then we should do a lot worse," Mark muttered, noting the absence of both Laxbrey and Graham.

Robin knelt to the ground and picked something that had been left abandoned. It was a slice of bacon. A small smile seemed so out of place after current events but Robin could not hide it. "Even now he trains me," he muttered quietly. "He is safe," he called to us and we all sighed in relief."

"Are you going to eat that?" Michael asked Robin quietly. "Chaos makes me hungry.

Keighley brought us all back to earth. "Where is Much? And Roger?"

We had all forgotten. All eyes flew to Will whose distraught look brought all fears to the surface. Bryce had never looked more worried. The same could be said for practically all of the gang.

If only Much could have seen us then.

.

.

.

There was something different about camp. Something just was not right. Amelia came racing towards John and showed no intention of letting him go as she wept into his shoulder. It seemed that even hearing about the night's events had been too much for her. Roger sat in a trance towards the middle of camp. Lilly sat beside him, rubbing his shoulder and doing anything possible to comfort him. Both were covered in blood and were completely silent.

Finally, Amelia pulled back a little and cried, "Much is going to be alright."

Never before had such cheers been heard in Sherwood. Everyone was hugging anyone and dancing about in delight. "We left him at Pete's for the night," Amelia called over the din. "Pete said he should be fine to come back to Sherwood in a few days time. A week at the most."

"So he is going to be completely fine?" Bryce asked, still slightly desperate.

"Well he is going to have some rather nasty scars for a while," Lilly told us. "And none of you are allowed to give him any grief over them! You hear me!"

"Are you kidding?" Will said with a giant grin. "I swear that we will never tease the bloke again!"

Thomas stopped celebrating suddenly. "Never as in ever?" he said in shock. "But how will the Merry Men bond?"

He was joking obviously was Roger was still extremely shaken up and shook his head. "Never again."

That didn't last of course.

Much returned in a week and every tried their best. But thankfully, Much had returned with that happy go lucky spirit and grew bored of everyone treated his as if he were breakable. "I give you all permission to tease me once again," he announced one morning. "I just hope that in my short absence, you have come up with some new and better insults."

Everyone looked to Roger who had become Much's unofficial protector. "I suppose we can handle that you idiot," he said and Much happily pretended to punch him. The punch turned into an almost hug.

It was an odd moment.

But I thank God that the idiot is back with us and safe.


	46. Realisations

The news spread like wildfire around England. The news of Gisbourne's possible resignation.

Naturally Robin was over the moon. The chance to never see his arch enemy again seemed to good to be true and I once heard him go to the lengths of singing songs about it with Michael.

Everyone else was looking forward to the end of the fighting. There had been plenty of this lately. Now that Gisbourne had returned, no one could concentrate. We all innocently went about trying to do our jobs but if Robin and Gisbourne ever met, there was drama. The new members quickly realised how repetitive the fighting was and it quickly lost its excitement. Both would quickly leap into an elaborate fight where both would always come close to finally defeating the other but never quite making it. All the while, the rest of the gang grew bored as they calmly waited around the edges, yearning for the end.

It seemed that to wait around was yet a mistake. With the amount of work we had to do, it could easily prove disastrous. Gisbourne was always left angry and shamed at the end of each unsuccessful battle and took it out on the Saxons. Houses were burnt, taxes snatched, livelihoods shut down and any other horrible thing Gisbourne felt like doing. Meanwhile Robin was too busy attacking Gisbourne to be of any real use to the cause.

So needless to say, the news was met with much excitement. Official announcements made by the Sheriff were normally largely important matter and everyone gathered anxiously to hear the result. In this case, it was obvious that the whole thing bored the Sheriff as he rushed through his speech in the most bored tone he could muster. "It is with deep sadness that we farewell Sir Guy of Gisbourne as he leaves us for greener pastures or something like that."

Everyone cheered with great enthusiasm. The merry men were prime examples of this. John was the loudest as he practically roared in delight as he lifted Much on his shoulders and practically danced. Roger and Will, who were normally void of emotion, were hugging anyone in range and holding back tears of joy. Robin tried to act mature in light of the people but the smug was back. That smug always came at moments of true victory with Robin.

The Sheriff observed the scene with slight amusement before speaking out again. "I do not know why you are all so excited. Gisbourne was the only thing holding back utter hell for the lot of you." That stopped the cheers as everyone looked around, wondering what he was talking about. "He is always the one begging that I stop burning down your pathetic villages and ruining your lives and so on. The little coward is always whining like a woman about your needs. But you can rest well, knowing that I will be taking on all of his responsibilities, along with my own. And just a warning, all this extra work, will not put me in the best mood."

Needless to say, all of the celebrating was gone. Thomas and Mark wordlessly slumped their shoulders and slunk off to drown their sorrows in drink. John dropped Much, who didn't even it in him to moan at the pain.

Thinking back, the Sheriff's words made a lot of sense. Gisbourne could have easily been simply ordered to commit these actions and the disgruntled look on his face reflected this.

Could he truly be our savior?

I headed to the Church as I knew Tuck would be the only one with answers. He instantly knew why I was there as he sighed, "I've lost count of the people who have come in to ask me of these rumors. I'm afraid they are true. We may hate Gisbourne but his resignation means the end of what shall be known as the 'peaceful' times. Allow the full reign of the Sheriff to begin."

"Well why would he quit? If he loved helping out so much"

"Would you really want to stay in a place that was a constant reminder of the woman you lost as you were constantly tormented by the man who stole her away?" I was ready to jump to my friend's defense but knew that he was right.

"Well maybe the Sheriff will not be as be as we predict?" I asked, knowing the answer. The Sheriff made Gisbourne look like a Saint. He did everything with a smile but this simply disguised his pure evil. Gisbourne seemed worse to us after the Marian drama but during that whole time, the Sheriff had been plotting and laughing his head off the whole ceremony as he saw Gisbourne's downfall.

Tuck considered my question. "Frankly I was amazed that he managed to enter this church with bursting into flames."

"I can't believe that I'm saying this but we have to make Gisbourne stay."

Tuck nodded and said, "well you best hurry. Gisbourne left earlier. He will be a good way into Sherwood by now. So may I suggest you run."

Before he had finished talking , I was running. Suddenly I turned and headed back to Tuck. "I think it's best that Robin doesn't know about this."

"That goes without saying," Tuck said, looking around to ensure that Robin wasn't eavesdropping. He did a habit of this after all.

So I ran, all the while contemplating the absurdity of the situation. I was officially running to stop Gisbourne from leaving Nottingham.

When I say that I have known Gisbourne for almost two years, the really means that I have known 'of' him. This minor adventure is the first time we have actually interacted. It was odd to say the least. Neither of us knew what to do upon laying eyes upon one another. A long moment of contemplation followed as we stared. Eventually he decided on drawing his sword. After all, I was still a Merry Man. But I was obviously no threat.

"I'm not here to hurt you," I said in a steady voice.

He made an odd snickering noise at the idea of me being able to hurt the likes of him and all high self opinions were instantly gone.

"Fine, but I think you should stay in England."

He laughed silently at the absurdity of my words and began to remount his horse. It was rather insulting. "Are you not even going to listen to me?"

It was about then he realised I was serious. "You," he said slowly, "want me, to stay? Are you mad or have you been drinking?"

"Believe it or not, you are still our best option for Nottingham."

Not a word reached his ears. It was a natural reaction of his to blot out any noise from anyone related to Robin.

"And I need your help with the clue!" I called after him. It got his attention to say the least.

"Why would I help you?"

"Because you have one half and I have the other."

It was unclear; the idea of who was bluffing. I had no clue if he knew anything and only had a rough idea. But he needn't know that. His pause informed me that I had gained his interest. But was he bluffing in return?

"So who shares first?" he asked and the banter began.

"Let's be honest, I am the good person here."

"You are an outlaw. This means you are known for dishonesty."

"I have spent almost three years helping people. You have done no such thing."

"Well that shows how much you know, did the Sheriff not mention all the danger I have nulled if not stopped?"

"Yes but you do tend to do things for personal gain. Remember Simon?"

"If you studied a little deeper into the background of that man, you would know that Simon was a convicted murderer. Yes I used this for slight personal gain but my personal gain is not in question here. The point being made is of my ability to help others which by the way is pointless as I can clearly see that you know nothing."

I sputtered in a desperate attempt to find a lie. It was too late. He had seen right through me. "So I was right. But on the other hand, you are a vital part of one section I have not figured out yet. So I suppose you are right. We need to work together. But no word of this can reach Hood." Once again I shook my head in disgust that so many people think me that foolish.

And then that moment ended and I was anxiously awaited part of the impossible solution.

He paused, unbelieving of the information he was about to give me. "For the answer is deep, but search for your prize. Your deep thirst for knowledge could drown your demise. Think about it."

"What do you think I have been doing for these past few weeks?" I said, trying desperately to hold back frustration. He just shook his head at me with a trace of amusement. "Fine," I huffed and let thought once again take over. "I still have nothing."

He sighed. "Focus on one section. Think of the last line."

"This is stupid! Why can't you just tell me what you know?"

"It is so much more fun to see you struggle. So come on, back to the line."

I was beginning to dread such thought sessions. "Ok well, it mentions water elements twice. I suppose that makes it important?" Gisbourne nodded slowly and I continued. So water. A river? A lake? A crook? A pond? But drowning? What does that mean?"

He shook his head. "Water is enough. Move on. Look at that section together."

"Deep is mentioned twice? So deep?"

He was clearly growing bored and rushed me along. "Think harder. Water. That is deep."

Snapping my fingers, I said, "It is hidden in the bottom of the ocean!"

For the first time in my life, I received that look. The one we normally give to Much. I am not going to lie, it hurt a lot. "How is that logical? Deep water for goodness sake."

"Can I do the next section?" I begged.

"We will digress backward. So wish if you will. Alright? So you need to wish. Got it? But just as you do this there will be no need."

"I wish all the time," I groaned, "and the need is still there.

He paused and gave the ultimate clue. "Well maybe you are wishing in the wrong place. The clue wants you to go somewhere that will help you wish. But as the clue is hidden in that place, it would be a wasted wish."

"Well where do people wish? Church? No that is praying. And we have already looked in a Church. And Tuck would slap my wrist for comparing prayer to wishing. So where do people wish?"

And then there was the pause. The pause of realisation.

"Water that is deep. Deep like in a well. But not just any well. A wishing well."

The slow sarcastic clap showed that I had finally done it.

No feeling shall ever come close to defeating such a victory.

Until he ruined the whole thing. "Now what do you know of the first half?"

Sinking down, defeat once again took its toll.

"What on earth do you and your sister know that no one else does?"

"Absolutely nothing."

Deep sighs were the only response.

"And the first section is obvious."

I shook my head slowly, hoping for a prompt.

"Something that holds animals but is not a stable. It must be a barn."

I was lost but desperately needed a minor victory to regain pride. "But that is only half of the answer. So barn in half is ba!" I should have stopped. I had no idea. But I continued to embarrass myself. "So baa is the sound that a sheep makes! So it must be hidden in a wishing well that has sheep near it!"

The look returned. It still hurt. All of the information circulated about in an endless void. A barn, something I did not know and a wishing well. Focusing on the wishing well was easiest. But how would I know which wishing well? Few wells were used solely for the purpose of wishing nowadays. Few had the resources to waste money in such a fashion of throwing them down a well. Not in Nottingham at least. I suppose that there were a few towns that were known for wasting their money. The folk of Kent were all too happy to throw money about. Norwich had a similar reputation. Barnsdale was probably worse than these two combined.

"Wait!" I called to Gisbourne who practically fell over with the sudden shock. "Do you know my name?"

Such an odd question threw him. "It starts with an A," he said after deep thought.

"My name is Allen A Dale."

"Congratulations."

"And who else shares at least part of this name? My sister, Annie A Dale. My Father inherited the lands of Airedale but Annie and I could never say this when we were young so we just called our lands Dale."

"So you're saying that the next clue is in Airedale?"

"No, because it is only half of the clue. Barn being the first half."

He paused as he too realised. It was only fair to give him the stupid look.

"The clue is in the Barnsdale wishing well."

For that small moment, victory bonded us.

"This does not make us friends," he said in disgust.

"Not in the slightest," I agreed.

"So what now?"

"I recall that you were leaving Nottingham."

"But now I have information to put myself ahead in the King's favour."

"Not if I tell Robin first."

"It has been, odd, working with you. Not good. But odd none the less."

And then we ran.

Back to our respective lives.

But the clue had been solved.

On to the next step.

.

.

.

.

.

.

25th November 1191

We ran faster then we ever had before. Everyone was reaching that exhausted tired stage but we all refused to slow down.

I suppose that you need a slightly higher amount of explanation.

This all began a few days ago when Richard's childhood friend had gone missing.

Before then, I could write countless pages of how everyone worshiped my brilliance after I cracked the impossible. Naturally, Gisbourne received no credit.

But I shall hold back. Just know that I am brilliant.

And what did we have to show for our effort?

Another bloody riddle.

I was so close to stabbing myself.

**_'High prison_**

**_Lead to childhood games_**

**_Only two Lards can answer_**

**_But I shall name no names'_**

"Well at least we know that that there is no chance of figuring this one out," Much said with the slightest hint of optimism. "None of us are Lords."

Prince John thought the same thing

"Prince John is clearly getting desperate," I announced as I came into camp, announcing my findings. "Another Lord has gone missing."

"That is the fifth one," Will exclaimed.

"At least it shows that he found nothing," John said.

"Well neither have we," added Thomas.

"This one is different," I continued, annoyed at everyone interrupting me. "This is Sir Godfrey. He was King Richard's best friend from childhood. If the King was going tell any of the Lords where he would hide the document it would be Godfrey."

We all raced into action. After each Lord went missing we searched for them and never found where Prince John was hiding them. We had eliminated most of the castle but there was still a lot of ground to cover and we couldn't let Prince John get that information before us.

"I think we have to go see Luke," Ben said.

Will obviously did not like this, "that git will not help us. He betrayed us."

Ben continued "Well I remember him from the old days. If we play on his conscience maybe he'll tell us. He does owe us this much. Or we could just set John on him."

John grabbed his quarterstaff "I like that plan best."

I shrugged at Robin "it is the best plan we've got."

So we went to see Luke. It was strange seeing him now. He had a cold look in his eyes, similar to one constantly in the eyes of the Sheriff. The fine clothes he wore didn't look right on him as we were all so used to seeing him in the same filthy outfit.

He knew why we came and was amused by it. "It astounds me that you only come when you need me. Go on; tell me how much you miss me. Grovel at my feet."

Roger and Will refused and turned to leave. Bryce and Greg grabbed them and whispered, "ignore you bloody pride. This is bigger then us."

"You owe us this much" Robin told him but he disagreed.

"I owe you nothing," he said angrily. "You threw me out with no where to go. I had made a mistake and regretted it. I do not regret it now."

"Fine" I said. "John, make him tell us."

John smiled, finally being allowed to do what he had wanted to do for some time. Luke was scared now. "Ok I'll tell you," he said quickly. "Do you remember that special dudgeon where the Sheriff hid Amelia and Lilly when they were sentenced to die?"

We practically kicked ourselves for forgetting about that. "I can't let you go-" Luke began to say but Robin punched him and fell to the floor. He would not awaken for a while.

"What is the plan?" Much asked as we ran.

"We don't have time," I said. "He could break at any second and find the document before us."

"Well this is going to go well" Much doubtfully said as we ran.

We were forced to stop when we saw the large group of guards. Before they saw us, we quickly dodged back behind the wall, praying that we hadn't been too loud. There could easily have been fifty bloodthirsty guards, ready to attack.

"Do we need a plan now?" Much asked a little too loudly. One of them heard and yelled to alert the others.

"Well not now," I said through clenched teeth as everyone glared at Much.

"Thirteen versus fifty?" Michael asked, doing a quick head count.

"Well it's never fun to have things easy," Robin said.

So we fought. Robin led the charge and found that he was rather excited to have a challenging fight for a change. They may be able to beat us in numbers but not in skill. It was clear that the Sheriff had just used run of the mill guards who were simply meant to scare us off by their numbers. I think he was hoping we would be too scared to fight them. He was wrong and we were doing well. It took longer than normal but we did get past them. I quickly scanned for injuries. Everyone seemed accounted for. Until I saw Greg running. Keighley was falling. Greg caught her and slowly lowered her to the ground. I knelt down and checked her wound. She had a deep cut on her lower stomach and the amount of blood she was losing concerned me. "You are going to be fine," I tried to reassure her "it is just a scratch. A rather large scratch." Robin was beside us in a second with the same worried expression

He pulled Greg and I aside. "We have to get her to Pete's," he said. "I don't like the amount of blood she's losing we have to help her now." He was getting worried

"Well how? And what about Godfrey?" Benny said worriedly. I really didn't know.

Greg continued "I can plead with Annie and see if we can hide Keighley there. Then we plead with Luke and see if he'll help. Or threaten him with John again." Robin agreed, mainly because he had no other plan.

She was calling Robin's name. He dropped to his knees to answer her. She was mumbling and it was hard to make out but I heard the main words "If I die."

"Don't talk like that," he told her. "You are going to be fine."

Greg picked her up and ran in the direction of Annie. We carried on into the dudgeons.

There were no screams but I did not know if this was a good or bad thing. He could already be broken. There was only one man in the cells.

"Godfrey?" Robin asked as we cautiously approached. He raised his head. He looked in pain but not defeated. He nodded and we helped him up and supported him.

"Can you walk?" I asked him and after a few feeble steps he nodded and we let him walk by himself.

"Ok" Roger said "We've mastered the walk. Now can you run?" We found that he could and we escaped the castle and ran back to camp.

"Keighley was wounded," Bryce told Amelia and Lilly.

"I'm not surprised in the slightest" Lilly replied. "What?" she said at the look Amelia gave her, "she enjoys attention."

"So are you suggesting that she paraded up to the guards and asked to be stabbed because she wanted the attention?" Amelia asked.

"No I'm suggesting that she wasn't so upset after it happened because she figured out that she was going to get attention."

"Not the time," I whispered to them as we all remembered Godfrey.

He eyed us all up. "You expect me to tell a bunch of outlaws one of the best kept secrets in England?"

"Uh" said Ben, "we are the good ones."

"You plan on doing the exact same thing with the document as Prince John."

"Using it rule England?" Ben asked.

Godfrey gave Benny a look that showed he thought we were idiots. "No but you both want to use to control who gets the throne. What are you going to do if it does name Prince John as the next ruler?"

There was silence. We didn't know.

"Exactly" Godfrey continued, "so I am not telling you anything." He turned to leave but John punched him hard.

"What?" he said in response to our disapproving looks. "We have to find out where it is." Unfortunately John forgot his own strength and Godfrey had been knocked out. We were going to have to wait a while for him to wake up.

Greg came back and told us "Luke treated Keighley but she shouldn't be moved right now. Annie agreed for her to stay the night."

I was shocked "Annie agreed to help someone?"

"She wasn't happy about it but she still did it. Whatever the reason I'm glad."

"Anyway we need a plan for Godfrey" Roger said and everyone began buzzing about possibilities.

Greg did not like this. "Can you all wait for a second!" he yelled. This shocked everyone, he never yelled. He instantly went back to his normal tone but we were all still shocked. "I know Keighley has had some differences with you all but I cannot believe how selfish you're all being. No one even asked if she was alright. For all you know she could die tonight."

"Will she?" Thomas asked.

Greg stopped "Well no. But none of you even asked. And it's not just that. You all just ignore her and if you do take notice of her it is only to say something cruel. She made some mistakes and she has paid for them. Why can't you all just give her a break?"

We were all silent, heads down in shame, mainly Robin.

"Well we really do not have time to work on that now," I said. Godfrey was beginning to stir.

"He recovers fast" John said. "Should I punch him again until we have a plan?"

"No" Robin said. "Let me talk to him. Everyone clear out."

They obeyed but they didn't look happy about it.

"Being knocked out did not change my mind," he said angrily. "Give me your best torture."

"Do you think because I'm an outlaw I am automatically going to torture you. Because I won't. That's what Prince John did and that's the kind of man who could end up ruling. You've seen what he does so why aren't you doing everything you can to stop him? I know you made a promise to King Richard but think of all the people who will die if John rules."

He was silent. Robin was growing angry and said, "how can you just sit there when you know Prince John is getting closer to finding it. You know that if he does he will stop at nothing to get rid of anyone's names that are on it. I swear to respect the document. If it is someone else then we will protect them. If it is Prince John then we can start working on a plan to stop him. He plans on killing the King so if you want to protect your friend you have to trust me."

He broke his silence and scoffed. "What is England coming too? Trusting outlaws."

"Does that mean you'll do it?" Robin asked hopefully. He mumbled something inaudible that Robin assumed meant yes. "So what do you know?" he asked. "I don't know where it is exactly but I do now where you can find a clue. You grew up in the castle, have you ever noticed the rooms in the top of the castle look like a lot like cells. That's because King Henry preferred his prisoners being at the top rather then at the bottom. Do not ask me why, he was a strange man. Anyway when Richard and I were kids we would always go up there and play games and make up stories about the people who used to be in there. It was kind of our favourite childhood place. We called it our Tower of Power, again, do not ask me why, we weren't very good at naming things. Before Richard left for the Holy Land he told me if anyone worthy ever comes looking for the document send them to the tower of power. I went there myself just to make sure he hadn't left it in some really obvious place for anyone I searched it thoroughly and its not in there. Maybe you can decipher it"

"Well how do I know which is the right room?"

"I'll take you. But then I am not going to help you anymore. You are still an horrible outlaw." He was smiling as he said this.

Robin went off to tell the rest of us. "There is something else you should know" Godfrey called after him. "You may have rescued me but what you didn't know is that another Lord went missing as well. Sir Ralph, he was the other friend who was there when we founded the Tower of Power. He also knew about Richards clue. They were torturing him when you came and saved me."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner" I said as I started to panic.

"I was still deciding if I could trust you. I didn't want you kidnapping him as well. He is a strong man but he will break."

"I know," Robin said as he hurriedly tried to think.

"May I make a suggestion?" he asked.

"Feel free" Robin responded.

"Run."

So we did. Again. There was far too much running going recently. Godfrey in his own words 'was not as young as he once was and couldn't keep up so he gave us directions that I was constantly repeating them back so as not to forget but I think I is already getting a few lines confused.

Speed is not so great for subtly and Robin became tired of peering around corners. "I'm considering just running for it," he whispered to me. "But then they'll follow and get the clue too."

"Hood, I was wondering when you'd make an appearance!"

We were caught. Prince John stepped into the archway and guards followed. Gisbourne and Luke were there as well just to make this worse. "So what have you found?"

Robin glared at him and stayed silent. He glared straight back. Tension was high as we waited for someone else to say something.

A messenger ran in "In the top tower, Richard called it the tower of power."

There was a pause as everyone considered their next move.

"So," the Sheriff said. "We now know."

"You sure do," Robin agreed.

"And now you know."

"We knew long before you knew. What do you think we're doing here?"

"So what do you propose we do now."

"It would be logical if we all calmly walked up with no violence needed.

"Makes sense."

Everyone paused again.

Then we all ran.

It was complete and utter chaos.

Everyone was doing there best to trip and push people on the opposite sides. If it hadn't been so serious it would have been rather funny. That is how Robin ended up in front with Gisbourne. He couldn't look back to see what was happening behind him. He heard many people crash and fall but he hoped that none were from our side. Thomas was surprisingly our top member of the day as he threw anything he could reach behind him to trip guards. Suits of armor, wall painting, even fellow guards became tripping devises. He didn't think through the fellow outlaws however and Bryce ended up rolling back down the stairs, entangled in a few guards. At least it was a small staircase and they seemed to break each other's fall. Thomas's tactics may have been great for stopping guards but not the best for speed as he found himself as the back. He shrugged and took pride in the long line of guards behind us who were nursing quickly forming bruises and obvious broken bones.

"I'll be back here," he called after the crowd. To tired to follow, he instead hung back up one of the paintings he had dropped and took a few moments to ensure that it was perfectly straight

The sound of armor clanking mixed with every ones panting became deafening. Much tried to follow the example of Thomas and reached for the nearest wall painting. Unfortunately someone had dropped a sword and he slipped on it. His head hit the wall hard but at least his falling body tripped two more guards. The sheriff had never been the fittest of men and saw this as an opportunity to remove one of Robin Hood's men. Ben too, followed Thomas's example of the wall hanging but for a different purpose. Using a large shield he proceeded to hit is as hard as he could into the Sheriff's head. The sheriff was flung backwards and I had never wished more that there was no stair railing as it prevented him from falling right back to where we started.

"Only we get to pick on Much," Ben said to the Sheriff, despite his obvious factor of being unconscious and therefore unable to hear.

I was close behind Robin and saw how both Robin and Gisbourne run that extra bit harder to outrun the other. Once again, it would have been funny if the situation were not so serious.

We finally got to the tower but did not the amount of rooms that would be there. No one could remember the right one. So everyone was running around looking for any kind of clue.

"Ok this is pointless!" Prince John finally yelled. "Everybody stop!" If we all go about this in an orderly fashion and work together we can finally know the truth. Isn't it better us all knowing then none of us?"

No one knew what to do. Robin gave us a nod and we all calmly began searching.

It was very peculiar sight, guards and outlaws united. The smarter ones were in heated discussions about whose theory was right, myself included. Others such as Mark and the majority of the guards, just pretended to be doing something. I am still unsure over whether this was because they were too lazy or too stupid. Probably a mixture of the two. It was all for nothing though. We did not find anything. There was carvings all over the walls from the young boys who had once played here but none of them made any sense to anyone.

We worked the whole night. Another waste.

"Hood" the Prince finally yelled. "Can I have a word?" Robin reluctantly walked over to him. "Obviously we are not getting anywhere right now. I cannot believe that I am doing this but I am granting you free access to this area until we figure this out. But only this area, keep out of my treasuries and other important places."

We gathered our men and told them it was time for a break and all trailed out looking defeated.

"Are you coming?" Thomas asked Robin, as it seemed he was heading in another direction.

"Actually I thought that I'd go see Keighley," he told him.

Thomas shrugged "rather you than me" and left.

I attempted to sneak out amongst the men but I was no sneaky enough. "Allen," Robin called after me. "It could be a good idea if you came."

This obviously was not because he simply wanted to spend time with me. He was scared of going to Annie's room alone and there was still this odd illusion that Annie tolerated me, just because I was her brother. "You are aware that she hates me right?" I said, trying anything to get out of it.

"She hates me more."

"I am not sure."

But I went. Lets just say I was not happy about it. It has been said that I complained the whole way but Robin exaggerates.

Annie was not happy to see us. "No" she said. "You are definitely not coming in."

"And here I was thinking we were so close," Robin said with mock pain.

She just rolled her eyes at him. "Actually this last year has been the best of my life and you know why? Because of how I barley have had to see you."

He held his hand to my chest. "Why must you hurt me in this way?" He dropped the mock pain "I'll only stop if you let me in."

Begrudgingly she stepped aside. Keighley was awake and looking fine, other then being very bored.

"How are you?" he asked awkwardly.

"Fine" she said "except for her." She whispered, "I think she's trying to kill me."

Robin whispered back "I wouldn't be surprised."

They both laughed but then it was awkward again.

All the while, Annie and I stood on the side, glaring them down.

"Look," Robin continued "I'm sorry about how I've acted these past few months. Just because things ended between us that doesn't make up for the fact that we've hardly spoken. I generally avoid conflict and I guess I thought it would be easier to avoid you and once again I'm sorry. I would really like to start spending time with you again."

She smiled warmly. "Thank you" she said "I've been waiting for that."

Annie couldn't put up with this a second longer. She angrily yelled at Robin. "You arrogant git. After all that nonsense with Marian. Imagine if she knew. After almost giving up her entire future for you. Imagine if she knew how easily and fast you moved on."

Annie looked like she was holding in the urge to be sick and couldn't take watching anymore. I took her storming off to the balcony as an opportunity to get away myself under the cover of pretending to go and see what was wrong.

"Could you kindly make her leave? I don't want to see that despicable display."

"Normally I would jump to my friends defense," I said "but in this case I agree."

Annie wasn't acting normal. She couldn't stay still and was almost pacing all over the balcony.

"Something worrying you sis?"

She didn't hear me, thanks to be so deep in thought. She avoided the question and said, "we should get back. Before they do something stupid like become betrothed.

I scoffed, but after careful consideration, raced in after her.

"So are you feeling up to leaving?" Robin was saying. "I don't want to rush you but I'm worried she might try and eat us."

Everything seemed to be going great. Keighley had recovered well and it seemed easy for her to run. The exit was in sight until Gisbourne stepped in front of it.

"We have unfinished business" he said as he drew his sword. Robin was happy to draw his as well.

Then they fought, again. Fascinating, I know.

Robin was starting to learn exactly the moves he used and the order. The problem was Gisbourne was doing the same for him. Just because they had done this a lot, it didn't mean they fought any easier. They still wanted to kill each other.

"Right where I left you" came a voice from the stairs.

We knew that voice.

We just could not believe it.

For the first time in almost a year we turned and saw Marian.


	47. No Need For Words

And with that, went any hope that Keighley had.

She remembered thinking how extraordinarily beautiful Marian was with long golden hair and bright green eyes. She could easily be one those fairy princesses' that her mother told her stories about when she was a young girl. Robin and Gisbourne couldn't look away. Keighley was completely forgotten.

"Someone please say something" Marian said, finding the silence just as uncomfortable as me.

"What are you doing here?" Robin finally asked.

"I had to come to Annie's wedding," she said "She keeps saying how she had to sit through my wedding so it's only fair I have to sit through hers. No offense," she quickly said to Gisbourne who was dumbstruck.

No one knew what to say. All was interrupted by the Sheriff, who walked in yelling Gisbourne's name but stopped when he saw the scene before him. He in turn, stopped abruptly mid-sentence.

"Well" he said "isn't this a tad awkward?" he said with great enjoyment. "Isn't this delightful? I hate to break up this lovely reunion but I have a job for you Gisbourne. Now." Gisbourne looked like this was the last thing he wanted to do, leave Robin and Marian alone but he had no choice. The Sheriff was not done. "Hood this isn't one of your allowed areas. Do I have to have you arrested?"

"No that's alright," Robin said and headed for the door, slowly. He was obviously hoping the Sheriff would leave and he could talk to Marian. The Sheriff grew bored of the whole scene and left, proving Robin's plan successful. He ran back saying, "so you're back."

"For a little while" she corrected him. "I'm heading back to France after Annie's wedding."

"Well that is not tonight" he said, "You should come to camp, see everyone again, catch up, change your mind about going."

"I think I'll pass," she said.

"Well I'm not taking no for an answer" he said. "Admit it, you want to see all your friends and they will all come and track you down if you don't come and visit. And they will be mad. Actually, mad is an understatement."

I could be silent no longer. Ignoring the politeness modeled by Robin, I leapt forward and swept Marian up in a bear hug.

"You can't ever go again. It has been hell with out you. And I mean hell. Trust me." I rambled on like that for a time while Keighley noticed that we were not alone. Juliana was spying behind a pillar. She saw Keighley staring and gestured for her to come and talk to her.

"Ill be right back," she told Robin but I don't think he heard her. His action was clearly far away.

"So" said Juliana "that is Marian."

"I guess so," Keighley agreed.

"So how are we going to get rid of her?"

This shocked Keighley a tad but then she remembered who she was talking too. Juliana had never been one for being subtle and Keighley knew it. "Seems harsh" she said but did not make a move to discourage her.

"She cannot simply come in here and expect to have him back," Juliana said as she flipped a long strand off hair off her shoulder. She began to twirl it as her evil mind worked. "It's a shame that I don't carry weapons."

"You would kill her?" Keighley asked, clearly shocked.

"Of course not," Juliana said, chuckling slightly. "But if someone were to stick a knife in her, I'm just saying, I would not be opposed to twisting it."

Keighley heard Robin calling her name. "I guess he finally remembered that I exist. I'll be in touch." And she ran back to him.

"Sorry about that," he said with a goofy grin on his face. Keighley didn't say anything.

Both women looked a tad uncomfortable at the unfamiliarity. "Oh uh," Robin said, "Marian this is Keighley. Keighley this is Marian."

"We've met," Marian said with a polite nod to which Keighley looked puzzled at. "Well sort of. Annie fetched me to help with your wound earlier."

"Right," Keighley said, clearly uncomfortable, "You had cold hands. It really helped with the fever. So thank you."

"I stood on the balcony for a bit. November is ending so the weather helped."

It would have been interesting to see if Marian would have helped Keighley at her own personal expense if she knew what had happened over the past year. Robin and I held our breathes with the knowledge that at any moment, Keighley could utter a few words that would send Marian away faster then we could ever imagine.

"Well thank you," Keighley said finally and we relaxed with the temporary peace.

I then knew why Annie had been so nervous out on the balcony. Marian could have walked back into that room at any second and seen Robin with Keighley. Annie had the same goal as the rest of us; make Marian stay.

Robin and I instantly began deep discussions about planning for the night. This involved many desperate and tactless ploys that Keighley obviously couldn't stand.

She hunched over suddenly, hand to her stomach. "I think I over estimated the wound," she said as Robin was instantly by her side.

"Can you make it back to camp?"

"Do you think you can take me to my family? I think I need to see them."

Robin swooped her up in his arms before I could point out the indecency. She seemed too tired to complain.

I had always favored Keighley and Greg's family. The instant they were in sight, the whole pack came racing over the pull us into inescapable embraces while they showered in comments of our good looks and bravery.

This was slightly dulled down today at the sight of Keighley's wounded state.

"Oh you're fine love," her grandmother said as Robin carefully laid Keighley down, "you just wanted an excuse for this fine young man to have you in arms."

Both Robin and Keighley quickly dropped their eyes and took deep breaths.

"We best be going," I said, quickly grabbing my friend and dragging him to safety. "We have a lot to plan, you know, the importance of England and all. Wonderful to see you."

Neither of us wanted to see Keighley cry.

Everyone else in the gang was thrilled that Marian was back. Apparently Robin did talk her into dinner tonight and Amelia panicked about how little time there was. "Right" she said, "I will get cooking and you all come up with a plan to make her stay."

Michael stepped forward "I wouldn't worry. As soon as she remembers how much she enjoys spending time with me she will never leave."

"That's actually a good idea," I said. "Michael, you were her best friend. Talk her around."

Everyone was instantly incredibly busy. Either they had been roped into helping with dinner or they had been roped into helping with plots.

Meanwhile, Keighley wondered about making herself scare for the night. All these men going crazy over a women was making her sick. But it would be more helpful and see what she could learn while sabotaging at any chance she got. She wondered if Marian knew about what Robin had been doing with herself and Juliana. But Keighley couldn't come right out and tell her. She had to do something that didn't trace right back to her.

Keighley thought she would return to camp to see a bunch of fake smiles and awkward silences but of course this was not the case. Every one was to busy with Marian to notice. Of course there were the three other new members who did not know her but this was quickly taken care of. Much introduced Bryce and Marian mainly to prove that he could be friends with someone like her. He wasn't subtle about it either. He bounded up to her and gave her a big bear hug. "I couldn't do that unless we were friends right?"

"Uh" she said, confused "yes?"

"Ha!" Much exclaimed as he began his victory dance. "Take that Bryce."

Bryce still wasn't convinced. He stepped forward and also gave Marian a big bear hug. "I would just like to confirm that we are not friends and I could still do that."

Much pleaded "Please tell him we're friends Marian."

"Much is a very good friend of mine" Marian assured Bryce "so stop picking on him. He's told me all about you."

Bryce complained "But it's so easy."

"I know" Marian agreed "but we all must learn self restraint."

This joke at Much's expense seemed to make Marian and Bryce friends and they shared another bear hug to show how Bryce now respected her. Bryce's bear hugs could hurt people. It was rather funny seeing him stand next to Marian as they were opposite sides of the height scale. Thanks to her shortness, the hugs became even more dangerous than before as he easily picked her up and almost flung her over his shoulder. I forgot how tough she was and she seemed to recover fine.

Mark saw it upon himself to stride up to Marian and say, "now I know my charm and good looks have a kind of hypnotic effect on women but please try and restrain yourself. Robin might get mad at us."

"Ill try but there's something about your eyes," she whispered to him. "I just can't look away."

Mark turned to Robin. "Sorry mate" he said as he scooped her up in his arms. "I was all set to let you have her but you didn't prepare me how beautiful she is." Both were laughing so hard that I'm surprised he didn't drop her. I'm sure she must have been thanking the Lord for her small structure, what with every ones current obsession with picking her up.

Keighley even saw Greg deep in discussion with the apparent enemy. She dragged him away saying, "you cant be friends with her." He began to complain and she began to hiss "she is stealing him from me."

He had to go a step further to turn his sister against him and said, "well technically he was hers first which makes you the thief and she's just taking back what you stole which was what she used to own."

Keighley stormed off, once again extremely mad at not getting her way. Marian was too busy with everyone else to notice. Namely Michael. He was almost crying with happiness when he saw her. He later claimed that world had almost gone into slow motion when he saw her again. The new members were a little confused at the two of them, wondering if Robin and Gisbourne had more competition and it was hard for the rest of us to explain that they are just the best example of best friends that we had ever seen.

Marian did however; figure out that Keighley was mad at her and did not try to approach her. It was obvious that Keighley refused to be sucked into friendship that everyone else seemed to be.

"So tell us everything about France unless it boring" Much said, " and if its boring then make something up."

"Please tell us you still cause some good old mayhem on occasion" Will said causing everyone to cheer at the prospect. That's another thing about Marian. Even Roger and Will liked her. They didn't like anyone.

"Excuse me?" she said, sounding very hurt "I never cause mayhem." Everyone raised their eyebrows. "Mayhem causes me," she corrected.

John came in and we all felt guilty for not noticing his absence. We all noticed the woman he was helping along. She was quite pretty, for a women of her age, something Amelia was clearly not happy about. It was also noticeable how she was limping. "John, would you kindly explain?" Robin asked.

"Well I was watching the North road, hoping to do some good old road side robbing. Sorry for not telling you Robin but I was feeling down about our failure with the clue so I wanted to do something I was good at. Anyway I heard some yelling and went to interrogate. I saw some men pushing around Rose here and I politely reminded them of the polite way to treat a woman. Don't worry they're alive, just. Well I could tell what their intentions were and it made me mad. They had to be taught a lesson. Rose had been walking through Sherwood when they started following her. She tried to run but she sprained her ankle and they caught her. It looks kind of bad and I thought, rather then have her hobble all the way to Nottingham and make her ankle worse, I figured that we have an amazing trainee physician, hello Marian, who could easily help a sprained ankle."

"Of course" Marian said "but do we have any supplies?"

Much ran to our supply cabin and came back "We have some of Luke's old things."

That ruined the happiness of the moment. "About that" Marian said, "can someone please explain to me exactly what happened." She began to work on Roses ankle but kept on enquiring. "I know he was always an idiot but I never thought he would do something like that."

"Well he just kind of lost it after Matthew died" Michael explained "and he's always had this darker side to him."

"I don't think so," she said. "If someone told me that we would have a spy in the gang I would automatically assume it would be Roger."

"What?" Roger said with mock hurt.

"Just because it's always the quiet ones. And it can't be Will because he hates the Sheriff too much. Other wise I would also think him."

"What?" Will also said with mock hurt "watch it or Roger and I will teach you a lesson and we won't go gentle just because you're a girl."

"You probably will, since you're best friends and all."

Both instantly jumped to their defense as they continued the charade of having no friends for the sake of their dignity.

All the while Robin was smiling some special smile that he only seemed to have when she was around. Keighley could see that it was going to be harder then she thought to break them up then she initially thought.

Marian took this opportunity to finish Roses ankle. "There. All done," she said as she tied the bandage with a flourish. "Try to walk on it as little as possible."

"Thank you dear" Rose said and Marian winced but gave Rose a polite smile. She walked away mouthing what looked like very rude things. "Marian has issues with being called a child." Lilly whispered to Greg and Keighley. "Even something as small as dear gets her angry."

"Well she is very young" Keighley said, wanting to hurt her, even if she couldn't hear. Lilly shushed her hurriedly and looked around to make sure Marian had not heard.

"I should be going" Rose said, wincing as she stood "Thank you John for everything."

"Hey, what did Marian just say?" John told her "you have to stay off that foot. Stay for dinner."

Amelia didn't look happy about this. She didn't like all the attention John was giving her.

"I couldn't intrude," Rose said as she politely declined.

"I insist," John, said, as he didn't notice Amelia's glare.

"Well at least let me help prepare something" she said to Amelia who plastered on a fake smile. "It's all done but if you really want you can help me serve."

John tried to protest under the protest of Rose's foot but both women said it would be fine. This resulted in Amelia bringing out the heavier items and leaving Rose in the kitchen. We waited and eventually heard shouting. "I'll be right back," John said as he went to enquire. He came with back with Rose and Marian yelling threats at each other.

"What's going on?" Robin asked, voicing all of our thoughts.

"She's trying to poison you" Marian said which Rose quickly interrupted with denials. "I saw her put something in the soup" Marian told Robin.

"Why would she do something like that?" he questioned.

"She's making it all up," Rose told us "She wants me gone, I don't know why."

Marian was about to deny it when Robin stopped her. "Rose has nothing to gain from poisoning us. Your eyes must be playing tricks."

"You're trusting her?" she asked with disbelief, not used to not automatically getting her way.

"I have no reason not too" he said "you on the other hand-" He stopped himself but the damage had been done. She shook her head in disbelief and walked over to the table. "What are you doing?" he asked. She said nothing but reached for his portion on the soup. "Stop it" he told her but it was too late she downed the whole thing.

Everyone waited as she cursed from it burning hot temperature. But aside from her scoured mouth she seemed unharmed.

Robin turned to Rose. "I'm so sorry about all this and I understand if you want to go."

"I saw her," Marian said, more to herself.

"Well obviously you didn't" Robin angrily told her "now are you done making drama or are you quite finished?"

She was silent for a moment. "I'm finished" she finally said, "coming here was clearly a mistake."

"I guess it was," he agreed. "I think its time you go."

Everyone was shocked and no one dared say a word. We all just watched with our mouths open as she stormed towards the exit. She stopped when she was about half way, seemingly to gather herself. She began walking again but only managed a few steps before falling forward. Robin had raced over before she hit the ground. He caught her and tried to control the shaking that had taken her over. Rose tried to run for it but John grabbed her and slammed her into the closest tree. Everyone ran around panicking. Will was the only one who seemed to know what he was doing. He dropped down beside Marian and announced "she's choking."

"I can see that" Robin said, trying not to panic "what do we do about it?"

Will didn't respond but turned Marian slightly and ordered her "breathe Marian. I need you to breathe."

"Is she breathing? Why isn't she breathing?" Robin was panicking.

Will turned to me, "take Robin over there, his panicking is not helping and its really distracting." It was clear he was trying to stay calm but was close to losing the calmness at any given moment. I'm not sure if it was wise sending me. I was pretty close to panicking myself but thankfully I pulled through.

Robin stayed put. "I'm not going anywhere." Roger wasn't taking no for an answer as he grabbed Robin by the arm and pulled him away.

"Everyone else too" Will yelled "You're crowding her."

Robin refused to sit idly by. He stormed up to Rose and yelled "what's the antidote?"

She smugly kept her mouth shut. John refused to wait and punched her hard in the face. "Don't make him ask again," he roared. She didn't look smug anymore but still said, "there isn't one."

"Do you want me to punch her again?" John asked.

"I have a better idea," Michael said. "Block her nose." Much was happy to oblige. Michael then grabbed another serving of soup and she had no choice but to open her mouth in order to breathe. Michael then poured the contents down her throat.

"Ill bet there's an antidote now" Ben said as her eyes filled with fear.

"I need you to promise that I will be given a portion," she said.

"Talk fast and we'll consider it" Roger growled.

She could see that we weren't bluffing. "There's a herb that grows on the outskirts of the forest that reverses the symptoms" she finally said but had to be prompted for its description. She was beginning to look dizzy and had to be supported by Mark and Bryce.

"This had better work" Robin growled "or the poison will be the least of your worries." She could see by his expression that he was really not bluffing and looked terrified. Robin was trying to keep calm but it was clear he was in no state to give orders. Luckily Roger stepped up and told everyone "pair up and scale different sides of the forest. We'll meet back at sundown and at least one group will have found something." He didn't look sure but turned away from Robin before letting this show.

Will seemed to have helped Marian a little. John helped to carry her to a bed. Everyone ignored Rose, despite how she was beginning to look rather sick and was shaking herself.

Robin whispered something to Marian and kissed her forehead. It was one of the moments that you felt rude for watching and everyone gave them privacy.

"What do you say? Partners?" Greg asked Keighley, knowing the answer full well.

"I'm not helping her," she told him. "I know it sounds harsh," she said in response to his shocked face."

She was expecting him to rant at her about the importance of helping others but he simply shook his head and muttered "I thought you were better then this."

Keighley thought she was too. It seems that she had stooped lower then she ever thought possible. This woman had saved her life without a second thought and here she was, directly ignoring her. But Keighley could not help it. She knew that she hated Marian. No one said anything when they saw Keighley wasn't going. Some gave her disgusted glances but still said nothing. So they all ran off leaving only Keighley and Amelia. Even Lilly had gone as she insisted "just sitting her will drive me insane. I have to try and help." Amelia was running around doing little jobs, just to keep herself busy. She was trying very hard to keep calm for Marian's sake but was struggling to control herself. It didn't matter really, the fever was getting to Marian and she was barley awake. To Keighley this was a good thing but Amelia didn't see things the same way. "She's getting worse," she hurriedly said. "I have to go see Pete, see if there's anything that can slow down her symptoms. I know it's hard for you but could you please watch her? She'll need these herbs soon so slow the fever but they will not work for long."

"Couldn't I go and check with Pete?" Keighley practically pleaded.

"There is no nice way of saying this" Amelia told her, "Pete really doesn't like you. I don't think he would help you. To be honest I don't think he likes me that much either. But he does like Marian and I will beg and plead until he comes."

Keighley wasn't surprised. No one seemed to like her. She finally nodded and Amelia ran off, leaving her alone with Marian. Well there was also Rose but she was also unconscious. Keighley just sat around, wondering what to do. She wondered if she was the kind of person who could just sit and watch, neglecting to give her the herbs and watch as she died. Keighley was certainly tempted as she sat with them, knowing that she held the key to Marian's life. It was the kind of thing Juliana would do in a heartbeat. Keighley didn't want to be like her. She saw Marian begin to stir and tried to wake her to take them. It was clear that she was in a lot of pain as Keighley tried to lull her into taking them. Marian just kept on muttering something as she feebly tried to bat them away. "Amelia said you have to take these," Keighley said, trying to contain her anger. Finally, Marian managed to sample a few small leaves but struggled to keep them down. Keighley could see why she initially refused them. She didn't know why but she held Marian's hand as the poor girl cried from the pain. Eventually she slowed but would not release Keighley's hand. She was very delusional so Keighley wasn't sure that she really knew whose hand she was holding. She just needed someone.

So Keighley stayed and even ended up singing to her so she could sleep again. It looked like Marian was asleep but Keighley didn't risk pulling her hand away. A crash on the other side of camp brought her to her senses and she had to leave.

Something wasn't right. Rose was gone. In her place was a letter.

.

.

.

Meanwhile we searched all afternoon. No one dared suggest we take a break. There was still nothing that matched Rose's description. "We should check in back at camp," Ben told me "I'm sure someone will have found something."

I knew something was wrong when I saw a group of the gang just pacing around nervously when they should have been searching.

I was too afraid to ask, luckily Robin wasn't. "Why is everyone here? You can't have checked the whole forest already."

Keighley stepped forward. "There is no antidote. Rose sent you on a wild goose chase." She handed me a letter. It said, "Terrowyn told me it would be easy to trick you all but I didn't realise how easy. My people have been working on this poison for years and I have worked up an immunity. There is no antidote, we made it this way. Thank you for your hospitality."

"We don't have to worry about her telling the sheriff of where our camp is," Thomas told me. "John and I ran into her when she was trying to escape. She fell again but this time for real. There was a cliff." He trailed off as we all realised.

Robin didn't know what to say. "How is she?" he finally sputtered out.

Keighley just shook her head, not allowing anyone to hope for a miracle.

.

.

He had to see her. She was barley awake but fought to keep her eyes open. There was so much he had wanted to say to her this past year but hadn't been able. Now he couldn't think of a thing. He knew he had to appear like he knew what he was doing so he reached for a nearby rag to mop her brow. This seemed to amuse her slightly. "You know that wont do any good," she told him. Her voice was barley above a whisper as each deep breath seemed tiresome.

He didn't trust himself to speak. "You forgot that I'm always right" she continued and despite the situation, he laughed.

"I also forgot how much you enjoy being right and love to rub it in peoples faces, no matter what the circumstance." Their laughter was cut short due to her going into a deep coughing fit where once again, he didn't know what to do.

"I'm so sorry" he said, "I should have listened to you."

She mumbled something that he guessed was "I told you so" but she was slipping away. He grasped her hand and had never felt more useless.

Will called him but he did not want to leave. "I love you," he said, praying it wouldn't be the last thing he ever said to her. She mumbled in response but it was inaudible by this point.

Will seemed to have an idea. "I'm not saying this will work and it will probably only make things worse. But when Rose described the antidote to us, some of the things she was saying about it made a lot of sense. Maybe it will really work."

"But we couldn't find any" I said. Lilly cleared her throat and pulled something from behind her back. I knew I shouldn't dare try to hope but it seemed we could have found the answer.

"The answer was in the inch of truth," Lilly said. "To tell a good lie there's got to be something true about the lie otherwise you'll lose track of what you said. She told us about the herb was located but the characteristics were slightly different."

"Hang on" Michael said as he snatched the herb out of Lilly's hand. "We are going to trust Rose now? The one who poisoned her? How do we know this won't make her worse?"

"She's going anyway", I said and Michael reluctantly handed it back. There wasn't much and I was terrified of what it could do.

She was barley breathing which motivated Robin. Everyone crowded in the tiny cabin to watch and held their breaths.

She opened her eyes feebly after taking the herb. She looked right at Robin and they didn't need to anything.

Then her eyes closed.

She stopped breathing.

She was gone.


	48. Silence in Sherwood

Silence is a funny thing. With it, comes so many different emotions. This was the worst kind of silence. The silence of all hopes becoming lost. The first sound to break through was a muffled sob. There was no possible way to trace this sob. This was possibly due to my muffled thoughts of the moment. There was no emotion. Just nothing. Never before had Sherwood experienced this sort of silence. Never before had I seen such misery in one cabin. I feel certain that if I were to label that feeling, it would have been the upmost sorrow of a broken heart. Not only for Marian, but for all those left behind.

"This isn't right" Much finally sputtered out. "She just came back, she can't die. Its not supposed to happen like this."

These words only resulted in anger on Roger's part. "Well you know what? Sometimes life isn't fair. Sometimes, life is out to get people. Sometimes, life is just-"

He had to stop to fight away tears as Lilly placed a hand on his shoulder. This outburst of emotion on Roger's part was obviously severely out of the ordinary. Nothing was as it should be.

I found that I did not dare look at Robin. If I wanted to grasp onto to any form of sanity, I could not break down.

Slowly, sound was returning.

Amelia gave into sobbing and was quickly incontrollable. Will was sniffing away in an attempt to cover his emotion. Ben was taking incredibly deep breaths in a desperate attempt to remain calm. Everyone else was taking part in one or a combination of these.

Robin seemed oblivious. I knew that to lay eyes on him was to admit defeat and feel once more.

But I knew that my friend needed me. However, there was the terrible problem of how I had absolutely no idea of what to do. No one did. What do you say to a man who had just lost his true love?

Apparently nothing. There may have been sound but no one could form words. No one wanted to.

They say that tragedy brings out a different side of people. They also say that tragedy brings out unlikely heroes. Both theories were proven to be true as Mark of all people took the plunge and knelt down beside Robin. All he could do was place a hand on Robin's shoulder in what he guessed would be slightly comforting. Words still seemed out of place so he simply tried to pull Robin's hand away from Marian. This was no easy task. It appeared that he still found a slight glimmer of hope and refused to let her go. "Let me go!" he cried as he fought back. Normally, Mark would have been no competition but Robin was not in his ideal state of mind. Finally, he was pulled to his feet and away from the body.

My new worry was Michael. As much as I hated to admit it, Michael and Marian were far closer than I could ever have dreamed of being. He was barley moving, leant up against the wall as he looked completely lost.

Most surprising of all was how even Keighley was holding back tears reflecting that bizarre power of Marian to make absolutely everyone fond of her.

Silence turned to anger as Thomas angrily leapt up and his only response was, "I need to hit someone. Some guards will do. John, come with me."

John on the other hand had that same look of horror caught and was unable to move. "It's all my fault," he murmured. "I brought that woman here. And now Marian is dead."

"Don't you dare blame yourself," Greg said but not with a lot of conviction. Luckily, Mark continued to take charge, with a little help from Bryce and ordered everyone to leave the cabin, poste haste. Such words had great effect. Everyone really needed someone to simply take charge. Everyone but Robin. These words had no effect on him as he remained stock still, grasping on to her hand. Michael also stayed frozen in place, still attempting to regain the feeling to move and myself. However, I stayed for nothing but obligation as feelings still surpassed me.

And then that damn silence returned. If I could feel hatred, I would have felt it then, simply for the silence.

Robin barley heard anything. "There was so much I needed to say to her."

"Say it now" Michael said.

Robin didn't know where to begin. "Well," I said "I'm sorry for not believing her-"

Michael interrupted, telling him, "Say it to her."

Robin normally would have felt ashamed, speaking to a dead person and spilling his deepest feelings in front of others. But at this point he didn't care.

"I'm sorry for not believing you. You were always the person I could always trust above anyone else. I wish we had more time, a lot more time actually. This past year has been the hardest of my life because I just can't handle life when you're not there. I should have stopped you going, I should have stopped you from coming here today and I should have stopped you from taking that poison. This is all my fault. You were right, I am a fool."

Emotion had finally returned to me but in an unexpected way.

Robin had been busy pouring his feelings forth while Michael and I felt terrible for being present. Well we would feel terrible if we could feel anything. But this lead the way for many a moment of awkwardly gazing at any odd direction. This is how I saw it. I saw her hand make the smallest of movements. Hope was still a dainty thing so I blamed it on a trick of the light. But then it happened again. A sudden excited glance to Michael informed me that he saw it too. Robin remained oblivious, feelings still flowing.

But finally it seemed that that the bloody woman could not stay silent a moment longer. "I told you I always right," she murmured in a voice barley above a whisper. And then came that joyous moment as her eyelids flickered open.

To say that everyone's hearts leapt at the sound would be an understatement. No words could describe the joy on Robin's face. That memory of silence was long gone as once again everyone was crowded into the small cabin, surrounded by a multitude of wild cheering.

I thoroughly doubt that Robin and Marian heard any of it. He was busy embracing her as hard as he dared while she embraced him back, just as hard.

But there is only so long that celebration can go before reality sets back in. Amelia had spent many a day over the past year missing the times when she could act motherly and protect her precious Marian. That all changed as it felt as if nothing had ever changed. That loud bossy voice was all too familiar as it yelled at us to, "be on our way and let the girl rest. I may not be a physician but sleep seems essential after nearly dying. Everyone out!" Apparently this applied to everyone but her, as she remained to give Marian a long hug. It seemed an odd combination of gentle care as well as the terrified grip of a would be Mother who almost lost her daughter. John had to drag her out and it appeared to use all of his strength.

It seemed that those words also did not apply to Robin who clearly had no wish to leave. Naturally I had to eavesdrop. I had missed doing that. Not that I had stopped over the past year obviously. How else would I know everything that was going on? But I had missed eavesdropping these two.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked. The only answer he received was an inaudible mumble which I think meant yes. "Do you need anything?" he asked again. He received the mumble that was slightly different so I assume it was no.

"Am I right in assuming that following tradition, tomorrow you are going to pretend this whole thing didn't happen and go back to pretending you don't love me?"

Unsurprisingly she gave her mumble for yes and nodded her head to emphasis the small smirk on her face.

"I thought so. I look forward to the challenge."

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.

.

From what I understand, the southeast cabin was the place to be on the night of 24th of November.

The day had been relatively uneventful. As much as Robin would have loved to sit around and wait for Marian to awake, there was work to be done.

The original inhabitants of this cabin were Much, Michael and Roger. Different men obviously but with one defining similarity. Each man valued his sleep highly.

Someone ought to have warned our poor Marian before she decided upon become their houseguest, but to be fair, she was getting on our nerves. Nothing terrible of course. Simply, the continuing factor of her denial of her true feelings after countless acts that prove them to be very false. As the days progressed, these feelings were brought even further into the light as she became a regular fixture amongst the regular goings on about camp. There was always some elaborate excuse that did practically nothing to mask the truth.

But in all fairness to her, Robin was not exactly acting ideally. His arrogance did help him in the slightest.

And the rest of the gang was just as bad. Somehow, and keep in mind of the oddity of this task, somehow Marian had made a close friend of everyone in the original gang. Far be it from me to discover how. After all, in that year she was present, all she seemed to do was create drama for our leader, which was then imposed on all else present. But without a doubt, everyone was ecstatic to have her around. What she failed to realise was that with friendship camp the ability to mess with someone.

Will, of all people, joined forces with Robin in this particular escapade. For some time now, Will had been working with Lilly to form a minor holding cell for our camp which could have come in handy many a time this year. Still, better late than never. It appeared nothing more than a slightly more elaborate cabin but the inner workings of its construction deemed it to be so much more. Careful detail ensured that the walls were thicker and near impossible to even chip away at, as the victim had no means of escape. The only light was a small barred window by the door and a small food slot. This cell had become Will's pride and joy, despite Lilly doing the majority of the work and he saw fit to show off to any visitor to camp. This of course, was not due to pride. It was an elaborate plot to trap anyone foolish enough to trust him. Marian was the next victim as she saw that the only way to cease his incessant ramblings would be to inspect the cell for herself. Unbeknownst to her, Robin was waiting a short distance away, awaiting his chance. Will seemed the perfect gentleman as he stepped back to allow her first passage. There was nothing gentlemanly about this act. Before she saw the plot, Robin had sidestepped into the cell with her and the loud following clang informed her that she was locked in. Her face darkened as she realised her situation. Robin was smug as always, saying "well I guess you have time to talk now, don't you?"

"Unlock the door Robin," she said in a dark tone. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand slightly.

"I have no key," he said happily. "Will is the only one. And he will not let us out until we have a nice long talk about your true feelings."

"Well then I suppose we die in here."

Robin laughed before pausing, realising that she was most probably serious. "There is one other option I suppose," he said, sounding to be the ever so generous man that he was. "Will could possibly see a kiss as nice substitute for conversation."

Her tone was still as dark as ever. "I take it back. We will not die in here. You will die first. Now order him to open the damned door."

Amelia clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "Such language from a Lady."

This was a mistake as Marian was alerted towards her presence. "Amelia you cannot let them do this," she called desperately. "It is childish if not barbaric."

Amelia was still disapproving. "Oh Marian you were always so overdramatic. I think a little talking would do you good." Small objections were attempted by Marian but Amelia cut her off each time before a single word could be formed.

Robin still had the smug look, which was not helping his cause in the slightest. "Your move," he told her. She moved alright and kicked him right in the shins. All outlaws outside the door winced at the distinctive sound as she connected with bone. A following crash informed us that she struck him again. She was not so lucky the third time. It is true that he did not want to hurt her in return but he was very skilled in all aspects of the fight and easily held her arm and twisted, resulting in her being at his mercy. He placed no pressure on this hold, having restrictions on not wanting to put her pain. She had no such restrictions for him in return as she stamped her foot hard on his own. This startled him rather than cause him deep pain but it still allowed her enough time to get free. But there was nowhere to go with the still locked door.

And so the fighting continued. We all grew tired of listening and eventually wandered off to perform other tasks while they fought everything out.

Have no doubt over the determination of both parties. There were in that cell for a great majority of the day. "Should we pass them food?" Lilly wondered, holding extra plates.

"They'll be fine," Roger said as he swooped past and poured the portions onto his own plate.

Just after sundown, Marian grew tired. Not physically. That happened not long after the door locked. She had been in France too long it seemed and her fitness was not what it used to be. This example of tired was how she tired of fighting off those feelings that said she wanted nothing more to hold him close and kiss him. The current part of the fight resulted in him pushing her against the cell wall as she writhed for freedom. He made it easy for her, as he was also closer than was proper.

Finally she gave in and kissed him. Quite passionately, I might add. Robin had been expecting a hard punch to his belly but he felt no need to object. Thinking back, she hated how passionate she had allowed herself to be and the victory this must have given him. But at the time, she could do nothing to stop herself.

That little flicker of fight was still present within her and the second she saw the smug look back on his face and inflicted upon to him the worst pain possible for a man with a simple movement of the knee. Ignoring his agony she simply ordered for the door to be opened and he managed to sputter out to Will. This startled us as we had almost forgotten of the minor war. Their silence had alerted the few who were within ears distance but most assumed that Robin had finally been killed and went about their business.

.

.

The trouble was that it was now dark and Sherwood was not a safe place to be at night. We may be the best outlaws around but there were plenty of others. And of course, everyone refused to escort Marian back to Nottingham under many different guises. The only true one was that they wanted her to stay.

The only cabin with room was the South East cabin and after slight interference from Amelia about the in-properties of mixed company, it was seen as the only suitable place for Marian to stay.

But back to my original point, Marian is a terrible roommate. This comes from her constant tossing and turning as she is constantly unable to find that impossible comfortable position. You may think that such an act is not such a bad trait. But imagine it happening literally all night with barley a moments peace between. To make matters worse, we had been forced to improvise on bedding previously and the result was a rather loud substitute.

"Marian," Roger finally said, in a dangerous flat tone. "I swear to God if you do not keep still I will ignore your gender and punch you in the face."

Much rolled to face her and asked, "having a bit of inner conflict are we?" The noise did not bother him as he was happy with the new company, So happy, that sleep proved unimportant as he hoped for a long late night talk.

Now that was the kind of thing Michael would be normally thrilled at but as I have previously stated, the man coveted his sleep. "Marian," he said in that same dark tone, "you know that I love you but if you are unable to be silent I will put you back on that ship to France myself."

She let out a deep sigh and they were granted a brief moment of wonderful silence. Then that sore feeling returned as she wished desperately to try to find comfort on her left side. Moving an inch at a time, she moved at snail pace to reposition herself. A small amount of sound protruded but not enough to rouse an angry outlaw. The trouble was that she got bored. She wanted this mythical comfort immediately. Eventually she gave up and made that swift sharp turn.

I have heard many accounts of what happened next and struggle to believe it, but apparently Michael roared. It is not a far thing to believe I suppose. There is no way to describe his deep love for sleep but I do hope that you are beginning to understand. "For goodness sake Marian! Just go to sleep and leave us in peace! I know, I know, it is near impossible to stop that little mind working as you constantly replay the never ending issue can I admit my deep love for Robin without losing this so called image that we supposedly have that shows you to be some emotionless monster which for some reason you think is a good thing. But let me ease your conscience. Admitting your feelings does not make you weak, it makes you human and we would all consider you a lot stronger and tougher if you would just go ahead and stop hiding them. And you know what else we would all consider positive? Shutting the bloody hell up and letting us sleep! Got it?"

"Yes sir," she said, eyes wide in panic. Michael sunk back down, happy at his delivered message. Roger wished to salute him on a job well done but was almost back in that wonderful dream state.

Then the discomfort returned. She held off as long as she could.

"That's it!" Michael yelled, leaping from his bed. "Get out!"

She could see that he was not joking and scrambled for the exit, barley having time to clutch at a robe Amelia had left out for her for warmth. "Don't you think that you're being a little harsh?" Much said, turning to face him.

Turning was a bad move. Before he knew it, Much was out beside Marian.

Finally there was peace in the South East cabin.

Much and Marian had their revenge a short while later. It involved buckets of water and an end to any hope that Michael and Roger had for sleep.

The rest of the Merry Men awoke to the near murder of Much and Marian and if it weren't for Robin's protection, I suspect that they would not have lived through the night.

It appeared that sleep was meant for no one.

It sure was great to have Marian back.


	49. A Walk Through Sherwood

Sherwood was not a safe place at night. But nothing is more dangerous than an exhausted outlaw who had been ferociously scorned. And there just so happened to be two of them. Long ago, Amelia had banned Marian from ever venturing about the forest after dark, resulting in many a night where she was forced to remain at camp. But it was obvious that rules were meant to be broken on that night. And of course, being the perfect gentleman that he is, Robin was the one who insisted on accompanying her back to Nottingham. No tricks apparently, he was simply being a good man. What nonsense.

Marian did not believe them for a moment but she had to get home somehow and to stay meant constant danger as John struggled to hold back Michael and Roger. When I say struggle, I mean struggle by John's standard. He still shamed us all in strength and held each of them simply by the collar of their shirt in a firm grasp. Anger and exhaustion eventually cancelled out the other and both man sunk into an exhausted state, meaning that John once again had complete control.

"Is there no one else?" Marian groaned, but only halfheartedly. She was too tired to begin yet another fight I suspect.

"No one that can be bothered or no one who would dare take this away from Robin," I told her as I passed over her satchel. "Now I suggest you get going if you wish to live."

Personally, I would rather that she remained obviously. But she would be back. Michael and I had already ransacked the satchel earlier in the day and taken out several items of importance. "We have to be careful about this," Michael had told me. "If it's is too light, she will notice right away won't she? And we will be in a fair bit of trouble." So each item had been carefully examined and judged on importance and weight and careful few had been hidden about camp. We both silently congratulated the other on stealth and quickly went about our business.

It was fairly obvious that the walk to Nottingham would not be a simple task. There was a small part of me that feel cautious about Robin making it there in one piece if he continued to be his usual egotistical self. "A word of advice mate," I told Robin, pulling him to the side slightly. "You may find yourself hilarious when you joke, but honestly, you're not all that funny and will probably just upset her."

He faked a look of pain. "I'll have you know that I am an incredibly funny person Allen." I had no doubt that he would be slapped by the end of the night. He would probably deserve it too.

Marian would never simply leave without one more hint of torment. "Goodnight Michael. You too Roger. I trust you will sleep well." The sudden struggle was back on and John quickly cursed and called for reinforcements. Robin quickly led her out of camp by the arm. "Hands off please," she said, politely enough with a small smile on her face. But there was danger there and Robin knew to quickly remove his hand.

And the journey began. It was bloody cold and a brisk walk was needed to ensure slight warmth. Amelia had given Marian a thick cloak and if it were not for this, the poor girl would have been useless. She had never fared well to the cold. Neither had I actually but after living three years in Sherwood, I had slightly adapted. Robin was always one of those people who seemed to not feel any cold but he kept his pride to himself, as it was obvious that she needed no reminder of the horrid temperature.

There was only a moment of silence before Robin could not bare it any longer. "You know, there is no need for this to be strange. We should be able to talk, hold a conversation. We are civilized people after all."

"One of us is," she said with a slight scoff but she was smiling. "Fine. But if you mention one word about your feelings or anything about the past few days then I will walk alone."

He knew that she meant this. So he racked his brains for what could be considered a suitable topic all the while cursing her ability to often make him forget his words and stumble about like a child with his first sweetheart. Simply looking at her was often the cause. "So, how was your time in France? Must have been pretty exciting. Exciting enough for you to leave and come back for Annie's wedding."

She barley looked at him, seemingly to concentrate on walking. "France is great. Annie's wedding is apparently a necessity and I will be returning to my studies immediately after."

He was not buying the lies. "I read the letters. The ones to Michael. So it's ok, you can admit it. Admit you missed me."

"Missed you?" she sputtered, trying desperately to hide the truth in those words. "Yes, there was a slight lack of social life thanks to the hideous amount of work and I did miss having people around slightly, but miss you? I laugh at the thought." There was no laughter of course as she nervously tucked her hair behind her hair and coughed away at the awkward moment. He happily tried to hide his minor victory and desperately tried to not laugh at it.

A sudden jolt of pain made her pause and, despite her best effort to hide it, Robin noticed and was instantly alert. "Are you alright? Is it the poison? Do you need to sit down?"

"I'm fine," she said with a tad of annoyance as she recalled where the pain was from. "I must have slightly twisted my ankle or something."

And with those simple words, Robin was once again glowing with his supposed victory of earlier in the day.

I suppose that I had better explain. There was a rather epic swordfight that took place at camp earlier. And as per usual, it was all brought about by pride. Marian had been extremely insistent of her full recovery from the earlier poisoning which I suspect was only a ruse to ensure that Robin and John stopped blaming themselves. John had spent a large proportion of the day practically reciting his apology speech after all. The poor man had never felt guiltier and despite her best efforts he refused to stop punishing himself. Robin had also been internally punishing himself over not believing her and was still thoroughly shaken at how close he had come to losing her. So he did what any many would do, he began to fight people. Will had been the current victim under the ruse of the whole thing being extra 'training' but in all honesty it was Will being worked to exhaustion while Robin worked out some tension. Marian had never been much of a 'sit on the sidelines and nicely observe' kind of girl and was all too happily listing Robin's apparent faults and cheering Will on. Robin took a minor break to say, "and I suppose you could do better aye?" Meanwhile, Will had slumped to the forest floor, making it obvious that Robin needed a new duel partner.

And thus the age of old battle for superiority began again. It had not been a necessity but Lilly had seen the need to interfere and ensure that it took place. Marian had politely refused saying, "I need no pointless fight to know that I would win. It is simply you men trying to prove who is stronger and I see no point in taking part in it?"

Lilly had seen fit to give Marian a wee push. "Oh, so are you saying that you are in fact weaker?" she said with raised eyebrows and that mocking smile on her face. This look never failed to ensure that Marian would do anything to prove herself. Secretly, Lilly had always used it as a tool. During her time as a maid in Nottingham castle she had found her deep hatred for too much work. The tool came in handy by secretly having Marian do things like clean her own messes under the guise of her being incapable of such an act. At times, it was hard to differ who was the servant and who was the mistress. Small things always seemed to go in Lilly's favour. In the brief time Marian had been back, the tool had already been witnessed many times. The first interaction seen between the pair had been both women sitting comfortably while both were clearly exhausted, Marian due to still recovering and Lilly from cleaning camp. Yet countless times, Marian was always the one opting to rise and get them a jug of water or a few apples or whatever else Lilly casually mentioned would be too difficult for Marian to ever work up the energy to gain. She was quite a devious woman that one. That, or Marian was extremely stubborn. I suspect both statements were true.

There was a pause as Marian decided on her next move. If she was being honest, she knew that Robin may have been a tad more skilled than she. There was also the factor of the past year in which she had not even touched a sword and the factor of how she was still recovering from her near death experience. "No it's quite alright Lilly," Robin called over. "If Marian doesn't want to fight, she doesn't have to fight. Honestly, I think it's great that you can finally admit I am better at pretty much every aspect. It saves us quite a bit of time."

He barley had time to finish these gloating words before Marian had pulled Roger's sword from his hilt and was lunging at him. Initially there was nothing more exciting than the loud clashing of swords. The new members were quite amazed I suppose but only because they obviously underestimated Marian's true skill. It is easy to say that she surpassed all of them. Robin was another story and she was clearly working hard to block each of his swings. She barley had a moment to do any attacking herself and put all of her attention into evasion. She hated how this made her appear the weaker of the two and tried that little bit harder. A sharp swipe from Marian forced Robin to stumble backward and while he managed to regain his footing, the pile of dishes was not so lucky. Amelia groaned as her freshly washed bowls were flung across camp to each land in a different mud covered spot. "I am not cleaning that up!" she called but her words fell on deaf ears. All sound was focused only the opponents sword.

The next part of camp to suffer was the newest cabin, which did not have the best foundation. As more new members joined, Lilly and Will had constantly grown all the more tired of building new cabins. It was interesting to see the change as you observe the first most elaborate cabin in which we resided versus that newest cabin. The foundation in question was shaking after Marian had leapt to the side to evade a particularly close swing from Robin. She had leapt with such forced that the cabin stood little chance. Greg was instantly panicking about his possessions. Mark simply shrugged. "As long as I have a roof to stumble under in those wee hours, I have no complaints." Bryce had barley noticed and was too impressed by the clear skill being shown.

When the fight moved to what was originally our safe spectator place, I had never seen a group of people dodge so fast as everyone did when they saw the approaching danger. The fight gave new purpose to the logs and boulders that had previously been in charge of seating. Now the pair leapt up on and around each as they lunged or dodged about. Michael did not move fast enough and raised his lyre to desperately protect himself. A stray swing from a sword ensured that each string snapped away and the unfortunate instrument was almost broken in two. Michael rolled his eyes and hit the remains hard on a nearby boulder, resulting in the final death. "It was unfixable anyway," he explained, "and I have always wanted to do that."

Finally they seemed to come to a mutual decision about having a slight break. Swords were still at the ready but no movement was made. But it was all obvious that the pair were both in dire need of a break else they too drop from exhaustion. Camp could no longer be known as camp. It was simply shambles. Amelia had long ago sunk her head between her hands and was heaving many a sigh. Most of the gang was edging away, hoping to avoid any order that would result in their having to help. Bloody lazy lot they were. The impact of our precious camp had finally opened the eyes of the angered and both Robin and Marian lowered their weapons and stood like young children preparing to be scolded. "Everyone scatter," Mark cried and suddenly it was a mock situation of upmost terror. Amelia would never anger at us thankfully. She simply gained that loving smile that she always had when she hated how much she loved us.

But no matter what Marian would later say, Robin was clearly the more skilled of the two. But nothing in the world would ever make her admit this. It did not stop the gloating however and this is why she gave him that deadly glare late that night which informed him that if he dare put a toe out of line, he would be sorry.

And the walking continued. Marian thought it a fun game to count in her head and estimate how long he would be able to keep him mouth shut. The obvious answer was, not long. "So," he said, "I am not allowed to talk about the fight. The fight that I won might I add. Nor can I talk about that moment, in the holding cell."

"There was no moment. And you did not win," she tried to say but he carried on despite the minor interruption with barley a breath in-between.

"Nor can I talk about how you almost died to save me. Nor can I talk about all of our previous history? Am I right about this?"

"Yes," she said simply. "Just forget all of that ever happened."

"Forget about it?" he said in shock. This was followed by a false sigh. "I suppose you're right." Her eyebrows were raised in sudden surprise at how easily he accepted her request. He continued in this jest for quite some time. "Well love isn't all that great is it? Pretty average really. So you're right. We should forget about it. Forget about falling into my eyes and my charms and the way I used to hold you-" The sound of her gagging fell on deaf ears as he continued in this bigheaded action. He was joking of course, but only slightly. As much as I like to give him the benefit of the doubt, his head and ego were far too large for his own good.

She continued with his ploy and stated, "You're right. All of those were things were positively horrid. Forgetting about them would be best."

"So it's settled then?"

"I suppose it is." Robin tried to hide his smile as he detected a slight hint of remorse in her tone. He suspected that his words were getting to her as pictured this loveless life and did not appear to approve of it one bit.

"Great. You know, I'm rather looking forward to this life without love," he said happily. All the while she held back laughter as he continued in the completely idiotic ploy. "I will have so much time for myself. No more of that ridiculous romance."

"And here I was thinking that you enjoyed it."

'Never! It was a constant chore."

In all of this fun and jest, both were unaware of how close they were getting. Walking had been forgotten once again as they looked at the other, waiting to see who would call the other's bluff first. There has always been that moment between the two. It occurred many a time over the past year. When one would look deep into the other's eyes and the other would be unable to look away. Al surrounds would seem to fade and there would be no one else in the world.

The trouble was, there was someone else there. More than one actually. We may have been the most well known of the outlaw gangs in Sherwood but this in no way made us the only one. Their leader stepped forward and called out, "sorry to interrupt Hood, but you just stepped foot in my area of the forest. We had an agreement didn't we?"

There was no such agreement. Let me explain a little about this outlaw, Aldous. When one hears the word leader, they often think of someone strong and brave with the ability to lead others. Aldous was none of those things. Most people would also think of a leader with age on their side, or at least some superiority over their gang. This is not as fair a comment as the first. After all, Robin was one of the younger members of our gang too. But at age fifteen, Aldous was still a good ten years younger than Robin. Now imagine an average sized youth, with horrid greasy hair flopping over his eyes and a constant sneer of disgust and you have Aldous. Do not let this image give you an incorrect idea of the rest of the gang. The rest of them were cutthroat villains with a fair amount of skill and muscle. It is fair to say that Aldous did not gain his leadership role from talent but rather from his Father. A Father that our gang technically killed. When we were first outlawed, there had been quite the battle over land in Sherwood. Many fools thought it right that they consider a stretch of forest to be their personal property. This was changed quickly as we easily showed them exactly whose forest it really was and generally they let us be. Everyone that is except the original leader of this gang. He was a cold-hearted man named Algar and it was quite apparent to see when Aldous had gained how horrid looks and attitude. Robin never killed anyone, except when he had to. He had not considered Algar a need and after defeating him in battle, he turned to leave the coward alone to reflect on his loss. Algar had never been one to lose quietly and had risen up to strike Robin when his back was turned. Algar brought it upon himself really. John had leapt forward, quarter staff in hand to defend his master and sent Algar flying backwards with a single swing. The trouble was, the fight had taken place beside a rather high cliff face. I know not if they ever found the body. But what I do know is, Algar's death did not affect his son in the way people expected it to. This was simply an excuse to attempt to defeat Robin. But there was always the factor of how much he lacked in skill and bravery. Whenever he found himself near Robin, he found that Robin was always surrounded by us and he knew that even in their best battle, his gang could never defeat us. Their trouble was that the gang cared nothing for the whiny child that they were now forced to obey. To gain their respect, Aldous had to perform many a ferocious kill or torture. It seemed that Robin and Marian were to be the next victims of this madness.

Robin saw no danger however. In fact, he laughed. "Really Aldous? I'm sure that someone of your age should be in bed. Now I'm sure that you don't want any trouble and I certainly cannot be bothered to give it to you. So I suggest that you move along."

Referring to his as a child was obviously not the best route. "Draw your weapons!" he called to his men who all either pulled out bows or sword and all of these were instantly pointed at the unfortunate pair.

The humour was quickly gone out of Robin's eyes. In its place was anger. "Step down Aldous," he said in a dangerous tone. Aldous was far too foolish to recognise this however. He always had an interesting way of walking. It seemed to be a mixture of a stride and a little skip. With this interesting walk, he slunk forward.

One of his gang pulled his bowstring and that unmistakable sound rung out. Robin was instantly alert and turned to defend Marian. This involved a full body turn and sudden step forward. While this did well for defense against arrows, it did little for the fact that Aldous had leapt forward and snatched Marian back with him. If Robin was angry before, it was nothing compared to what happened then. Bowstrings were tighter as well as swords being pointed, all to ensure that he could make no move. Aldous was once again at a safe enough distance to be cocky. Marian was now little more than human shield as it seemed that he was stronger than they initially believed. The worst part was clearly the dagger pointed to her neck. I suspect that Robin would have been to panicked to breathe. He would have been unable to look away from the glinting dagger and that small growing red spot of blood which could only come the point of the dagger being pressed slightly too hard into the flesh. His own sword was quickly in his hand but Aldous only laughed at this action. "Drop it," he said darkly, "or we see just how much blood we can get out of this pretty little neck." For each moment Robin waited, the dagger sunk a little deeper into her fair skin. In a burst of rage, Robin flung his sword to the forest floor and two of the other men rushed forward to restrain him back.

Now all Aldous could do was laugh in delight. If he had half a brain he would have looked at his enemy to see just how angry Robin was. But it seemed his ego matched that of our own leader and he thought that nothing could hurt him. "You have a weakness now Hood. And I am loving it," he said as he twirled his dagger about his fingers, enjoying the glinting effect it caused. "So what will you do for me aye Hood?"

One of his men, Merek stepped up to his master. "I know you wish to kill the outlaw but would it not be so much better to hand him over and reap the reward money?"

"I was going to do that anyway," Aldous practically spat out. It was clear that he did not enjoy being patronized or taking suggestions. "But how do you suppose we do that? Are you simply going to walk into Nottingham and pray that you don't get arrested too? You bloody fool. You're a wanted man, just like him." Then he looked down and remembered his human shield. Once again, the dagger was sharply pointed at Marian as he addressed her directly for the first time. Some would say that it would have been easier for Aldous to disguise himself and go to Nottingham but these people would have forgotten what a bloody coward he was. "How would you like to do us a little favour missy? If you cooperate, we may just let you live. How would you feel about handing in your precious Hood to be executed? No one will know you."

A slight look of confusion passed over Robin and Marian. Obviously everyone would know her in Nottingham. Then it occurred to them, after many a year in Sherwood, Aldous knew not who she was. Therefore, he did not know her skill.

Marian knew just the way to play up to men to make them believe she was weak. To everyone but Robin, she appeared to be a complete coward as she appeared to be holding back tears. "Please no," she cried in a voice that convinced them all but would have made me roll about in laughter. "please God no. Anything but that. I'll do anything you want."

His eyes definitely perked up at that comment as he puffed out in his chest in a desperate attempt to appear manlier. It didn't work in the slightest. "Well let's see," he said as he looked her up and down. "I'm sure we can think of something." This distraction only angered Robin further but did well at getting Marian the slight amount of freedom she needed. The dagger was still beside her throat but his sole focus was not that anymore. In one quick motion she had dodged under his arm, all the while staying in his grasp so that she could twist further, making him drop the dagger in pain. A hard kick to the stomach sent him flying back and gave her enough time to retrieve the dagger. The closet man was Merek and he was equipped with a sword rather than a measly dagger. Marian saw this and decided that fighting him would be pointless. So instead, she flung the dagger at his head, ensuring the hilt hit him square on the forehead so that he fell unconscious to the forest floor. Robin took advantage of everyone's distraction to turn suddenly, pulling at each man's arms until they both stumbled forward and knocked into each other with great force. As the fell to the ground in pain, Robin grabbed each of their swords and threw one to Marian.

But they were still horribly outnumbered. Aldous had scrambled backwards as he watched the whole scene unfold but he had not been forgotten. Robin saw him and decided to not waste his time on the pointless outlaws. Running forward, he grabbed Aldous by a fistful of his shirt and pulled him up until he feet were barley touching the ground. From there, his sword was quickly at Aldous' throat. "How do you like it huh?" he said in a dark voice. This was not a voice that I heard often as it only came out when Robin was at his angriest.

Marian too could recognise how angry and dangerous Robin had become and was instantly by his side. "Robin, don't," she said, in the most calming tone she could muster under those intense circumstances. "You're not a killer" she tried to remind him but he was too furious to listen.

"Call off your men. Now!" he yelled and Aldous was all too happy to oblige.

"Everyone leave now! I mean it! We will meet at camp." They seemed all too happy to leave him and I suspect that there was a fair few who rooted for Robin to kill him. "Please don't kill me!" he begged, in a high pitched voice of fear.

I will never know what Robin would have done if Marian had not been there to calm him. She was the one who pulled his arm back and took the sword from his hand. All the while, Robin refused to look away from Aldous, that furious glare practically burning holes into the other man.

Marian's action of leadership seemed to amuse Aldous and a shadow of his former self returned. "To think!" he called over as Marian pulled Robin away, "the might Robin Hood. Controlled by a mere, little, girl."

He was suddenly thrust back against a nearby tree but this time, Marian was the one with the weapon. "Listen here you little worm. You can hide behind your men all you want but we can see who you really are. And that is a measly and pathetic coward. Also, I'm older than you so don't you dare refer to me as a girl." Aldous tried to mutter about close their ages were but she only shoved him harder into the tree. "Now I am going to give you some advice. And that is to make yourself scarce. Because if Robin ever sees you in this forest again, have no doubt, he will kill you. Do I make myself clear?"

The instant Aldous was released he bolted off, whimpering all the while. Marian breathed a deep sigh of relief as she felt calm once more. Robin was not so lucky as he continued to fume on the side. "You should have let me kill him," he muttered.

"And here I was thinking that you were one of the good ones," she said pleasantly, thinking to hurry the walk along. She wanted to push away the notion that only she would have been able to calm him such a situation.

The only thing that seemed able to break through to him was the small trickle of blood that trickled down her neck. Stopping her, he inspected it closer. Any pain to her made his blood boil and this was no exception. He placed a finger over the prick and in the process had his hand gently had his hand around the back of her neck.

And then there was that moment. Again. Not a spare thought occurred to them about the multitude of dangers still present. They thought not of Aldous nor his men because suddenly they were the only ones in Sherwood. This time, nothing was present to stop a kiss.

And then reality sunk back in.

"I best get back soon," she mumbled and turned quickly to walk again.

He sighed and hurried after her, not bothering to try and stop her. He knew that this event would appear to be forgotten by her by the next day. Or at least she would pretend that it never happened. All the while, he swore to himself that one day he would break through.

Finally, there was temporary peace in the forest. And I do mean temporary.


	50. A Good Show

There is only so long that certain people can keep their noses out of business that does not concern them. I would like to say that Robin and Marian forgot all of their differences and stopped neglecting their love but I cannot. Nor can I say that they even had a single night of peace before drama returned. The likes of Juliana would never see that occur without a fight.

On that same night in which Robin and Marian were fighting for their lives, a different sort of activity was occurring in a different part of the forest. Keighley wandered to her desired clearing, listening intently for any sound. The sound came in the form of an unrecognizable birdcall. The only logical reasons behind this could be either a dying bird in a severe amount of pain, or some fool who had very little forest experience. It seemed to be the latter as that fool was Juliana. For her part, Keighley simply sighed, annoyed at being kept waiting and tapped her foot impatiently. All the fun was ruined for Juliana as she stumbled forward through the undergrowth, saying, "What happened to the signal?"

"I remembered that I had dignity," Keighley said simply.

Juliana scrunched her face at her as she flounced forward, stumbling all the way. She had always looked out of place in Sherwood. It seemed that Sherwood hated her just as much as we did as many a tree seemed to rip at her clothing and many a loose stone or twig aimed to trip her. All the while she muttered about a deep hatred for nature and her wish to burn it all to the ground.

They say that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Therefore, it was a dark day in hell when Juliana and Keighley joined forces. While I could list pages about their lack of goodness, beauty and grace, they did possess great mind power. This day had been planned for some time now, namely, since the day that Robin had left Juliana. Revenge for her would sweet as she imagined the possibilities. Keighley on the other hand, seemed slightly unnerved to be there, obviously not as excitable about petty revenge. "What's the matter?" Juliana asked, faking empathy, "having second thoughts? Well don't. They both deserve everything we can possibly do to them."

"So what were you considering?" Keighley asked, hating how intrigued she had instantly become.

Juliana's eyes widened as she became deathly serious, whispering the single word, "murder." Keighley let out a loud gasp and Juliana dropped all seriousness to burst out in deep laughter. "Goodness, you actually believed me. Do you really think that little of me? I do have a shred of humanity you know."

"No you don't," Keighley said in all seriousness.

"Yes you're right actually. You know, it would be all to easy to push the little madam off a cliff."

"We are not using murder!"

"I was only joking! Slightly."

Keighley finally realised that she was dealing with a crazy person and gave up. "You know what, have fun doing whatever you wish. But you can count me out. Because, short of actually pushing her off a cliff, there is little we can do. Robin will win her back and I am the one who will have to bloody well see it everyday."

Juliana's hand shot out and grasped at Keighley's arm. "Oh contrare my friend. That is where you are wrong. I feel that our mere presence could make quite the impact." These words made little impact as Keighley continued on her way. "You know," Juliana called after her, "I think you have grown soft. I think you actually care for her slightly." That stopped Keighley dead in her tracks. Juliana was thrilled with the nerve she had obviously struck and continued. "What happened to the woman who easily seduced her way through the Merry Men to get to the top? Would she be so easily defeated by a mere girl? She would fight back. But what have you done? You care for her while she was sick. You lull her to sleep and mop away at her forehead. And all the while, you did nothing to alert her of us. We are the very things that could take the budding romance and crush it"

"Why do you even care?" Keighley asked, finally wondering past her own problems. "Don't pretend this is for some deep feelings you had for Robin. Why do you care so much? And why were you interested in Robin in the first place?"

"So many questions. I don't think that I have to answer any of those because you are obviously not going to help me. If you are too much of a coward, I suppose that means that I shall have to do this alone."

"What are you going to do?" Keighley called but Juliana was little more than a small silhouette in the distance. "Juliana!" she called but the woman was too far gone, evil plans already forming.

.

.

.

Upon reaching Nottingham, Juliana wished to hunt down Marian instantly but ran into someone else first. The Sheriff leant over a rail and watched her approach. He never needed words to communicate his emotions so she could tell instantly that he was angry with her. Before she had a chance to defend herself, he snappily told her, "East entrance. Now. She will be there. So stop bloody well wasting time and break that little happy bubble she is floating about in. I don't want schemes or tricks. When I hired you, I assumed you could get any job done. Now that you failed me, I suggest that you redeem yourself quickly and learn to follow orders."

She knew better than to answer back and scampered off the East entrance, just in time to see Robin and Marian return. She paused unable to ignore any longer that love that was apparent between the two. The whole thing made her sick. The sun was just beginning to rise and it was obviously time to say goodbye. It did not take a genius to see that he wanted to kiss her. But something was still holding her back. This made Juliana's smile all the wider. Later, she would tell people that she "saw an obvious wedge in the young girls heart. It was time to push it deeper." She could not hear what they were saying and dared sneak no closer. Robin was a good man but she knew that he thoroughly disliked and would hate her being anywhere near his love.

Eventually Marian seemed able to tear herself away, happily turning and wandered off, leaving a clearly forlorn Robin behind. Juliana took her chance and strode after her.

After the night she had just experienced, it made sense that an unknown figure chasing her put Marian on edge. But upon seeing it was just a woman she had seen about the castle, Marian relaxed once more. This was foolish. "Can I help you with something?" Marian asked, politely enough.

"Oh no, I don't feel that we have been properly introduced." She offered out her hand and announced, "Lady Juliana."

Marian was rather unsure with what to do with the offered hand and chose to ignore it and smile. "Pleased to meet you. But why are you chasing me in this early hour?"

"I have just been so anxious to meet you after hearing so much about you from our mutual friend."

"Guy?" Marian questioned, suddenly rather confused.

Juliana let out the deep throaty laugh that was so obviously faked. There was no hint of true happiness at all. "No. Why would I bother having anything to do with that useless man? I mean Robin of course."

Marian hesitated ever so slightly, obviously not expecting such an answer "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, suddenly unsure if this woman was a friend or foe.

"Oh no need to be coy with me dear. And I do hope that there are no hard feelings from that unpleasant experience. Bygones and all that?"

"Bygones? What do you mean?"

"Oh," Juliana said, her voice trailing away in pretend confusion and embarrassment. It was clear that all honesty she was loving every moment of this. "I can't believe he didn't tell you! Well, I suppose I can. We are talking about Robin Hood after all. He isn't exactly known for honesty."

"Tell me what?" Marian asked, with far more insistence. There was a small part of her that already knew the answer. In fact, she had suspected such actions from the moment she left. But she had to hear it aloud to fully accept it.

The act of false embarrassment continued as Juliana pretended to be overcome with emotion, staring at the ground to seemingly avoid the others eyes. "Well, about him and me. About our relationship." Marian changed her mind, no longer wishing to hear about it and turned away. Juliana regretted her shoe choice as she attempted to run after her. She had underestimated how fast Marian could walk away when she was upset. This was in no way to comfort her. She simply was not done stabbing in the knife. "You don't need to be angry! It wasn't love or anything! He would, lets say, visit me a lot, late at most nights."

"And how does that make it any better?" Marian said in an unrecognizable tone.

"It makes the whole thing considerably better! Considering how he was Keighley. That was all about feelings and other pointless things. And I am on your side! As soon as I knew about you, it was over between us. But in all fairness, he never mentioned you."

Juliana had a many more things to say, all excuses that were really bragging. All the while, Marian wore that emotional mask that hid her face from anything but serene calm.

In some ways, Gisbourne's interruption was a blessing for Marian as it saved her another moment in the company of that horrid woman. But then again, it was Gisbourne and he was definitely one of the last people she wished to see. But wanted or no, he was there. His eyes slowly purveyed the scene and could instantly tell what was going on. "Do us all a favour Juliana and spread your poison somewhere else."

Time had passed and Juliana had grown tired of the nice act. Once again, she had that expression that all at once conveyed exactly the snake she truly was. "You fool Gisbourne. You continue to protect her. When will you learn that you will never be first choice for any woman?"

Her words had no effect on him. He finally realised how little he cared about her. That was one thing he would admit to thank Marian for. His love for her made him wonder what he ever saw in the snake. "Move along before I make you," he said in a dangerous tone.

Marian could not handle another moment of this and ran off in the opposite direction. Juliana watched her go with that dark smile. "Well she was not what I expected. Beautiful, sure. But everyone said that she had such spirit. Well I fail to see it. I'd say that she is rather docile."

Gisbourne let out a small laugh and decided that it would be more fun to let Juliana discover that fighting spirit for herself.

.

.

.

The next day saw the Merry Men in that same blasted tower room, still struggling to make sense out of the impossible. "You know, I'm starting to think that Thomas and Mark have the right idea," Greg told Roger and I as we stared blankly at the wall.

Roger snorted slightly. "Drink until the wall is interesting? How do you think that is working for them?" The three of us looked over to the pair. The morning had seen them befriend one of the larger guards with the promise of sharing Thomas' flask and the three were now stumbling about the tower, yelling at anyone who would listen to their bizarre theories.

"Well at least they are having fun," Greg said. "That's more than can be said for us."

"You mean to say that you don't find staring at a wall all day fascinating?" I asked sarcastically, getting rather tired of the whining.

Little did we know, the day was about to get rather interesting. Robin figured this out the moment the door opened to reveal Marian entering the room. He was instantly filled with that happiness of knowing that she was near. All happiness was gone when Juliana entered behind her and closer inspection showed that Marian was obviously angry about something.

Michael was instantly leaping into action and bounding over to meet his friend. "Come to help us figure this out aye?" he said in an overly happy tone, attempting to hide the fact that he was pulling her away from Juliana. "I assume that you found it easily?"

"Juliana kindly offered to show me," she said in a flat tone with an equally flat smile aimed at Juliana. This was returned with just as much honest emotion. We could all tell that something was wrong. Keighley slunk backwards, wishing to avoid the obvious approaching drama.

While we may have had a truce with Prince John, this did not mean that we could go around having deep conversations with his niece without exposing her relationship to us. So we were all forced to move along without enquiring exactly what had happened between the pair. As Marian could not openly work with us, she had to appear to be working with Juliana and was clearly not pleased with the idea. Robin was also extremely unhappy with this action and was constantly peering over at them to ensure that Juliana did nothing that she would regret. Both studied one carving in particular. It was a love message, one from King Richard to someone called Shelly. When I say love, I obviously do not mean actually love. Judging from the handwriting, it must have been carved when Richard was but a child. None the less, it seemed to spark some debate between the pair. "I don't think it is significant," Juliana concluded. "Men do tend to go through women don't they? I suppose it is because they always think they can do better and constantly search for a better woman to replace the old boring one."

"I'm not too sure," Marian retaliated. "I know my Uncle. He was never in a large romantic love affair. She must have been one of 'those' women. You know the ones? The ones that are simply around for entertainment and are tossed aside when things settle down?"

"Well who knows really," Juliana said, still smirking. "Men are fickle aren't they? Who knows what will come tomorrow? What I do know is about the past. And I can see how quickly he moved on from supposedly loving you." All cover up stories were forgotten as both woman were sick of tiptoeing around the other. Robin was clearly panicking but could do nothing due to nearby guards. "A word of advice," Juliana said, very slowly and very dangerously, "this is not the England you remember. I am on top now. I get it. You enjoy the drama. We have that in common. So bring it the battle. I welcome opposition. It makes life interesting."

Marian considered her words. "Well why don't you welcome this?" she said calmly and suddenly her fist was flying into the other woman's face. All guards were forgotten as many Merry Men leapt forward to break up what could have easily turned into a lethal war. There was an impressive amount of blood considering there had only been one punch. It seemed that Marian's fist had made great impact with Juliana's chin, causing her teeth to snap forward and rip at her own gums. Marian had not escaped free of injury however as those stray teeth had also cut at her hand in the process. Robin thought that he should do the honorable thing and hold Marian back, if only to halt severe injury for Juliana. "Get your hands off me," Marian said, in an extremely dangerous tone and he couldn't let her go fast enough.

I did not fear her however and took his place. "Promise to not hit her again," I said.

She nodded, begrudgingly. "I won't punch her again."

Robin and I remember that line. That same excuse had been used in the church two years ago on Robin himself. "Slapping counts," I said still refusing to let her go. "Promise to not lay another finger on her. Seriously, I don't particularly mind and feel that she deserves a lot more but you don't want news of this little event sweeping about England. Just breathe and let it go."

I had always had a gift for calming her and she stopped struggling against me. Nervously, I let her go and she remained still. Juliana thought my control over her hilarious and had the nerve to laugh. No one held Marian accountable for that second punch, despite promising against it. Everyone knew that it was well deserved.

Ben urged John forward and suggested, "maybe you should escort Juliana out of here." He then whispered to him, "be as rough as you like."

"No, it's fine," Marian announced. "She can stay. I'll go." And before waiting for a response, she stormed out. Robin ignored the guards and raced after her.

Juliana realised the danger she was probably in and also raced away.

The rest of us remained.

"Now what?" Roger asked.

Much grew bored of waiting and headed for the door. Bryce pulled him back hurriedly. "Are you mad? Interrupting what is going out there would be suicide," he whispered.

Mark slumped against the wall, pulling at his flask once more. Will flicked his hand out and ensured that it gave Mark a hard flick on his forehead. "Focus on the job!" he scolded, confiscating the flask.

When he thought no one was looking, I saw Will swig from the flask himself. He definitely had the right idea.

.

.

.

"Just listen to me!" Robin was calling as he attempted in vain to catch up to Marian. When she didn't want to be caught, there was no chance. But it seemed that she had something to say.

"Why? There is nothing to say. I can't just wander around with my eyes closed anymore and ignore this. You really think that I didn't suspect a thing before Juliana had the decency that none of you possessed to tell me exactly what was going on?" Suddenly, most of her anger seemed to disappear and she was calm. This was far more worrying. "Look, I get it. And I have no right to be angry. I left and you did what you saw fit."

"Don't do that!" Robin said. "Don't try and pretend that you are not furious at me so that I seem the irrational one. You did that all the time when we were kids so everyone saw you as the mature victim."

"This isn't a ploy! I am just tired alright! I am so tired of all this fighting." There was no more trace of anger. Only sorrow. "It shouldn't be this hard to be with someone. Obviously we are not meant to be."

"Don't say that!"

"I will stay for Annie's wedding. But after that, I have to return to France. And I don't think we should see each other anymore. It will be easier."

Any attempt to stop her was futile as she speed off. She wasn't fast enough, he still saw the tears. And then she was too far. Guards were present and he could not pass past his allowed areas.

A sudden scuttle of feet caught his attention as Keighley attempted to sneak past. She had no words for him, only shaking her head and disgust and moving on.

And then Robin was alone. Or so it seemed.

Applause came from a nearby pillar and Gisbourne stepped out from behind it, applauding his enemies complete failure. "Good show. Really. I mean that. You've done well at messing everything up completely."

Robin reached for his sword but hesitated, seeing his enemy clearing not etching for a fight.

"What do you want Gisbourne?" he said, practically snarling. "Come to share your opinion have you?"

"Honestly," Gisbourne said, standing slightly, "I just feel sorry for Marian. The poor girl gave up everything. And yet here you are."

"You speak so high and mighty. Have you forgotten that she left you?"

Gisbourne remained eerily calm. "Yes but apparently she has left you too."

Robin was silent. Gisbourne sighed and continued. "You claim to love her but you really don't understand her at all, do you Hood?" All she wants is for someone to take care of her."

Scoffing, Robin said, "Are we talking about the same Marian? Clearly you are the one with no clue."

Gisbourne simply sighed, as if explaining to a child and carried on. "Don't you remember how she was an orphan? How she was left alone at the age of eleven? And what did her new uncle do? The worst thing possible. Send her away. Reinforce the idea that no one wants her. So all she wanted was the idea of family. Didn't you ever wonder why she agreed to be engaged to you at such an early stage? And then you left her too. So finally she found me and I promised her the security that she so desperately desired. But you couldn't leave well enough alone. You are right, that she wanted excitement and fun and you offered that. She was caught up in the drama and chose you. That's when I arranged for her to leave. By reminding her how fleeting your life can be. The very next day I had arranged your impending death."

"I got out of that."

"Sure you did. But she still saw how easy it would be for you to be gone. Leaving her alone once more. Hence she left, before you had a chance too. One of my better plans actually."

He looked ready to say more but Robin had pushed him back into the wall, cutting him off. "Will you ever be silent?" he yelled but he would not.

"And I'm glad I did," he yelled, silencing Robin. "Now that it is confirmed how quickly you interests change."

"You had no right," Robin snarled.

"And you had a right to interfere in my engagement?"

Robin suddenly released him, no longer caring. Gisbourne straightened his shirt and began to walk away. He hesitated, saying, "She can be happy you know. If you just let her go."

He chuckled again as he walked off. "I mean it you know. It really was a good show."


	51. The Climb to Victory

On the odd occasion, persistence is rewarded. Finally, everything seemed to make sense.

It all began shortly after my previous entry as a new companion joined us in the tower room. I could have sworn that it was the Sheriff. But that could never be right. Someone of his 'stature' could never be seen doing actual work. The man I saw was Luke, although it was growing far more difficult to see the difference. Both were dressed in elaborate finery. Both barked orders at their men. Both had that look of constant distain on the faces while around those they considered to be common. There was no aspect of merriment around him at all. It was obvious that his presence in the tower was not by choice. "Everybody listen," he was saying to his guards. "The Sheriff, to say the least, is not happy with the lack of progress here. And when the Sheriff is not happy, Prince John is not happy. And when Prince John is unhappy, the rest of us are forced to be bloody miserable. So I have been sent, to ensure that you all stop sleeping on the job. For your failure, is England's failure. Now get back to work!"

We arrived shortly after the beginning of this speech. Robin shook his head in disgust as many a Merry Man clenched their fist or reached for a weapon. "You know," Robin called out, "it's getting pretty hard to tell who is talking. You, or the Sheriff."

He extended his arms in a mock welcoming and greeting fashion. "Outlaws! I was wondering when you would show up. Now hurry up and starting thinking about this damn clue."

"We don't take orders form you," John growled.

Luke only laughed. "You don't scare me in the slightest John Little. I know you. This whole angered act isn't you! And you are far too honorable to actually lay a finger on me."

"Are you willing to test that?" John said, angrier now. His quarterstaff was in hand and he clearly wished to use it. But Luke was right. He knew us. And he knew our weaknesses.

"Leave him John," Robin ordered. "He's not worth it." John took many a deep breath but lowered his quarterstaff. Roger and Will glared at him on their way past but otherwise, everyone ignored him.

The only time to measure time was from the movement of the sun. There was complete darkness when we arrived and the sun was high by the time we reached complete frustration once more. "New plan!" Ben announced and everyone was suddenly listening intently. "We burn this place down and pretend this whole year never happened." Groaning at the false excitement, everyone went back to work. "I'm serious you know," he said and I do say that I few people seriously considered his idea, myself included. But actions of anger never seem to be the best solution. So the tower lived to see another day. Barely.

There had been no idea untried. Desperations became realities as we turned to literally any person we could find. It seemed that the next unwilling helper of choice was an unknown Lord who came strolling into the room, clearly with many other things on his mind. He did not appear as if he would be much help. It did not take a genius to see that he clearly was on the side of Prince John. He just had that look in his eye. The same look worn by Prince John, the Sheriff and now, unfortunately, worn by Luke. Everything about him practically screamed how horrid he must be. He was extremely tall and lean, dark hair styled perfectly and slightly unnecessarily. Each article of clothing was finery, all laced with gold. All was completed by one of the horrid moustaches that I had never favored, nor should any sane person. Greg was quickly by my side and whispering, "that is Hadrian DeValles. Your future brother in law." I am not sure about whom I felt more sorry for at that point and I am sure that my facial expression portrayed perfectly my sense of confusion and slight disgust. I know that my sister and I have never been close, but even she could do better.

He obviously cared nothing for actually helping people as he headed straight for Luke. "Just the man I wanted to see," he said with false smile atop his face.

Luke refused to waste his time. "Hadrian you have been told countless times that you will receive nothing further for your services. So kindly stop asking for more payment! Your job isn't that hard. Just keep your mouth shut and marry one stupid woman."

"Have you seen her lately? She is driving me completely insane! If I have to put up with that for the rest of my life than the least you can do is slightly is increase my fee."

"Aren't you going to defend her?" Greg whispered to me. Honestly, I had far better things to do. But I supposed that the clue was going nowhere so I had better do something productive with my precious time. Protecting the honour of my sister had never been such an act but desperate times called for desperate measures.

I strolled to meet the man, all the while attempted to appear as threatening aw possible. This had never been a simple act for the likes of me. He however, had the look mastered. But running away was not an option. "I think that it's about time we meet," I said, trying to ignore he seemed even more repulsive in closer range.

It seemed that the same could be said for me, judging on the reaction to such presence. You would think that I was little more than a rodent, blocking his path from the stare he gave. It was difficult to not feel like the said rodent as he peered down his nose at me, making me feel suddenly very small and timid. "Move along outlaw," he said, sounding very bored all the while. "I have rather a lot to do and cannot waste a moment."

"Well I suggest that you make time," I said, swelling up as tall as I possibly could. "After all, you are soon to wed my sister."

A normal man would at least show a minor amount of worry or regret at having obviously being overheard by a future in-law. But not this man. He only laughed. But at least he seemed suddenly a tad friendlier. "I wasn't aware that she had a brother." This was a tad demeaning but it was only to be expected. I often forgot that I have a sister too. He continued, "well I suppose you owe me a drink or something. After all, I am taking that spiteful creature of your hands."

Now I am not a particularly overprotective brother. Not in the slightest in full honesty. But I was still angered by his words. "You mean to say that you are really only marrying my sister for wealth and land?"

"No, I'm doing it for her personality," he said, each words dripping with sarcasm.

"Does she know this?"

"Well that would require her to step out of her own little world in which everyone bows to her every whim. And we all know that such an event could never occur so I think that I can safely say no, she hasn't a clue." The look on my face must have finally conveyed to Hadrian how I was not fully happy with such a situation. Suddenly he seemed dangerous. There was still a cover of friendliness in his words but each came with obvious danger and hatred. "I do presume that this little conversation shall stay between us. You wouldn't want me as an enemy."

For once, I was thankful for the clue as Greg called me over to enquire about a new theory he had. I was all to happy to flee, leaving behind an obviously crazed man. He would have to be a problem for another day.

Greg's theory was obviously a dead end. As all plans were. But little did we know that the we had been on the brink of discovery for quite some time. And the most unexpected of outlaws had unknowing discovered it long ago.

Mark had been banned from his flask while in the tower. It is bad enough to be surrounded by failure but it is worse when some drunken oaf is stumbling about singing love melodies off key. Michael had taken to wandering about with his fingers up his ears to stop himself breaking down about the apparent insult to his profession. The ban of drink had been Godfrey's one and only request when he finally succumbed to our many pleas for help. After all, no one knew Richard better than his child hood friend. I like to think that if Robin ever left behind a clue, only I could solve it. I suppose Marian would be able to as well but she was still furious at the current moment so therefore was ruled out.

So as Greg prattled on about his ideas, Mark was lugging himself about the room, moaning about the lack of excitement. Godfrey meanwhile, was also doing minimal work and rather focused on complaining. "Richard was all ways to smart for his own good. Mere mortals could never comply according to him. Oh well, at least I had all of the luck with women."

This amused Mark. After all, he considered himself to be the 'ladies man' of the gang, despite never courting anyone in his life. Successfully at least. Apparently, this was because no one was good enough. I say that roles were slightly reversed. "So you were the kinds of young boys who would play in this tower, only to emerge to go be around women?" he asked Godfrey, hoping for a deep romantic tale to lull away his boredom.

Sadly, this was not to be. Godfrey laughed at the thought. "Women came around a lot later. And were far fewer than I care to admit."

Mark was clearly disappointed. Many of the people of England had a romanticized image of King Richard and Mark was included. While some the King as strong courageous hero, Mark had always idolized him as the ultimate romantic God. "So Shelly was no past love that of which Richard wooed and than stole away with her heart?"

This clearly startled Godfrey as he had no knowledge of such an act. "Richard barley knew any women, let alone wooed any. Especially at the age in which we played up here." Mark sighed and stared at the favourite carving of his. It was a love engraving. A heart with Richards name and Shelly's. Godfrey could see that this was a sensitive subject for such a crazy man and talked to him in a much softened tone. "I'm sure that he could have been exactly the kind of man you wanted him to be. But he chose to lead his country instead. There was no Shelly. Unless she was a cave that it."

Sighing, Mark muttered, "I can't believe that I wasted all of this time idealizing a useless King and a cave. Why on earth would he love a cave?"

"Because he didn't," Godfrey explained. "He hated that place. Shelly cove was a dangerous cave at the nearest beach we could reach. We dared to climb to the top, nearly killing ourselves in the progress and managed to get lost in that horrid cave. You have no idea how dangerous it was. Richard fell a great length into a small abyss, breaking a fair amount of bones. You may consider him a war hero but I never will after seeing him cry like a newborn baby that day.

"Sounds pretty dangerous," Robin interjected, surprising the two who had not realised how loudly they had been talking.

I also had been listening and thought the same as Robin. "Not only does it sound dangerous, it also sounds complicated."

"Definitely not the sort of place people can just stumble upon," Will called across the room. "It seems that the only people who would go there, would be looking for something.

Suddenly everyone was anxious to look closer at the one carving. But there were still plenty of guards about. The last thing we wanted to do was alert them to our possible break through. Mark finally figured out what everyone else had been so quick to see and pretending to tire of his placement, wondering off alone. Godfrey pretended to stretch and Robin pretended to join him. All the while, the two of them studied every small detail. Sure enough, right above the clue was Richard's insignia. "Richard did not gain that insignia until he took the throne," Godfrey muttered. "Therefore, this carving had to be done around twenty or thirty years after the rest of them. Meaning he must have had a purpose."

Without another word, each Merry Man quickly got to his or her feet and filed out of the door.

There was much work to be done. Unfortunately, the Sheriff was waiting for us. "Any luck?" he asked, seemingly innocent enough. "My men alerted me that you seemed rather passionate about something." His eyes were shifting from on outlaw to the next, looking for signs of weakness.

He would receive none. "One of my men grew weary of the task," Robin said calmly. "He got a little too excited over the prospect of Richard and his past with females. All of which are none existent of course."

"Of course,' the Sheriff agreed, refused to break eye contact with Robin. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see guards assembling. They were closing us in.

"Run," Robin yelled and we scattered. With so many of us going in different directions, they had no hope of catching us. This was not ideal with the long journey ahead of us. With this in mind, I stayed as close to Robin as possible. More than anything, I wanted to see the document. Roger, Ben and Bryce had the same idea as I and Robin lead us to the stable, thinking to steal horses for the journey. This was not as easy as expected with only five men. Yet we still managed to get eleven horses back to camp, a victory in itself.

It seemed that we were not the only ones who wished to find the document. Normally after such a fleeing frenzy, it would take a great portion of the day to regroup the Merry Men as most would stay away, happy to indulge in whatever activity they saw fit. One his day, we were last to return as everyone was there. Even Marian was there, something Robin seemed all to thrilled about and something that Keighley was obviously not.

"Sorry everyone, there is only eleven horses," Bryce said in false modesty. It was really boasting in the fact that we had secured such a large amount. "So I suppose females will have to share. So Much, who do you want to share with?"

"I suggest you Bryce," Marian said, clearly bored. "As it was your brilliant idea."

Robin's face still lit up when he saw her. "I see you couldn't keep away."

"I would happily stay away if Michael and Allen would kindly stop stealing and hiding my possessions." Robin pretended to give us a disapproving leadership look but the moment she looked away, he was grinning instead. "And then I heard that you had quite a journey planned. So I want to come."

There was no complaint from Robin so it was decided. Keighley was the only one who looked like she objected and no one cared about her.

"You can even share my horse," he told her.

"I'll share with Michael."

Godfrey had opted to come with us under oath that we would respect the document, with whatever it stated. It seemed the most logical thing to do. He got us this far and hopefully he could get us to the end.

The ride to the cove was not a peaceful one. There was constant looking over our shoulders to ensure that we were not being followed. Thankfully, Much refrained from the singing that he had insisted on last time as he understood the seriousness of how close we were. Also, he had been forced to share with Bryce and neither seemed at all thrilled. There had been a large quarrel over who was to ride in front as this was seen as the less feminine option, which obviously Much lost. So there was plenty of shoving on both of their parts the whole time. Robin had been banned from talking to Marian and dare I say he seemed to be honoring it. I suppose that every understood the importance of what we hoped to achieve today.

When faced with the cove, we understood the difficulty of our task. To reach the cave, we would have to climb the rock face. Even upon looking at it, we saw some of the smaller, unstable rocks fall. It would take hours of slow and careful climbing and the slightest slip would send us falling into the crashing waves below. The mouth of the cave seemed to grow more distant as we looked upon the task of climbing up to reach it and the term 'certain death' appeared in many a mind.

"Seems easy enough," Marian commented, with minimal sarcasm. Almost eagerly, she leapt of Michael's horse and began eyeing up the best way to begin.

"Hold on," Robin said as he too leapt off his horse. "Maybe it would be best if you waited here. We don't need everyone up that cliff. More people could knock more rocks."

She glared at him. "Have you forgotten who I am? Because if you did you should remember that I don't like being belittled and I wont take no for an answer. So let's go."

Robin held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Robin's idea does make sense though,' Godfrey began but stopped when Marians glare was focused on him. "Not for you in particular. Just how some people should remain here. The less that goes up the better." It was rather amusing how she obvious controlled even the likes of a Lord she had just met.

"You know," Much began. "I'm not the best climber and I don't do well in small cramped areas. Maybe I'll just wait here." No one saw a need to complain to this. Mark, Bryce, Greg, Benny and Thomas also opted to stay behind. Keighley normally would have leapt at the chance to do an act so daring but she didn't want to be around the two of them. Michael looked a little nervous at the height but was obviously too proud to say anything.

"Michael," Robin said. "Why don't you stay? I think we've already got enough people."

Michael pretended to be disappointed but shot Robin a thankful look while convinced that we had all looked away.

"There is no way that I'm staying and doing nothing," Will said.

"Me too," Roger added.

I shrugged. "Might as well."

It was clear that John wanted to go but his size begged to differ. It was decided that he had better stay there.

So the six of us headed off. Roger and Will marched proudly up to the rocks and were almost racing each other up. The rest of us were wiser and took it at a much slower pace. Godfrey wasn't exactly in the fittest of states and went a lot slower than the rest of us. Robin offered Marian his hand but she declined it and was insistent on doing it herself.

And the climb began.

It wasn't as hard as we initially thought. The rocks may have been loose but they were quite large and we could easily stand on the large sturdy ones. It was simply a matter of slowly stepping our way up after the person in front thoroughly inspected the rock ahead. Roger and Will subtly fought over who was going to be first. Eventually Roger leapt up the first rock, leaving a begrudging Will to follow. Everything was a competition to them and Roger had definitely won that round. The wind roared as we climbed higher. It rocked our balance as we clung harder to the rocks. Roger and Will quickly lost their voices as they attempted to yell to us over the wind. Their attempted warnings of the looser rocks fell on deaf ears and I lost count of the times we nearly plummeted to our deaths. The climb would generally go something along the lines of Roger would yell something down to us, which would be muffled by the time it hit our ears. I would yell back "What?" to which he would yell back the same "What?" This would go on until I was interrupted mid 'what' by the loose stone, almost falling to death but always saved at the last second by Robin, who learnt for my mistakes and avoided that rock. Will and Roger were forced to stop racing, as speed was no longer an option. Staying alive however could be. Marian had always hated being called little but her height did become a factor here. Some rocks were too high for her to pull herself up and she forced to accept Robin's hand to help her up.

"Even I had to get a hand up," Robin told her as she begrudgingly took his hand.

"What is that supposed to mean, even you?" she replied, annoyed at his pride. She was also annoyed at how safe she felt with her hand in his but she liked telling herself that it was all about pride.

"Only that I'm taller," he said, with a quick save. "Now put your foot in the gap about half way up and use it push yourself up." The wind caught her here and nearly pushed her back as she teetered on the edge. Robin grabbed her around her waist and quickly pulled her back. She clung to him as after the shock and for a moment, both of them forgot the mission as they looked into each others eyes. When I say a moment, I mean a moment by their standards. To us, it dragged on. But none of had the heart to interrupt as we all hoped that Marian would finally give in and kiss him.

But there is only so much an exhausted outlaw can take. "Do you mind?" I called, pulling them out of their moment to get Robin's help in pulling Godfrey up. Needless to say, I ruined the romance slightly. But in all fairness, Godfrey is very heavy and too unfit to do most of the climbing himself. After that, Marian tried harder to not require Robin's help. It grew harder as we climbed higher. The wind grew stronger as we grew more exhausted but eventually we hit the top. Marian had to accept Robin's help again but quickly moved off, pretending to be excited about stable land again.

"Right," Godfrey told us "the cave is big, dark and a lot more unstable then what we just encountered. So give me a moment to catch my breath." He lay down and panted for a moment. Apparently, no one in the group knew the true definition of a moment as he continued to lie. "Remind me why I'm here again?" he puffed.

"Because you knew Richard best and if you can roughly remember where he got lost that time as a boy, it could be a clue," Robin told him. Godfrey mumbled about the impossibility of finding that place again after all this time.

"It's always a good safety plan to have pair," Robin said, while looking at Marian. "Someone who you look out for and they look out for you."

"Makes sense," she agreed. "Allen I'll go with you." Normally, I would be a good friend and insist that I had gained a bond with Godfrey and therefore would continue to look after him. But he was a fat man. And Marian was small. I decided that friendship could wait.

It turned out the pairs idea was needed. The cave made the cliff seem easy. One wrong step, and you feel to your death. Add the factors of darkness and unstable rocks and you have yourself an extremely hard trip where it is a necessity to watch out for each other. However, in the darkness you could barley see two feet in front of you and it would have been impossible to watch out for everyone at once. Marian walked in front of me, checking each step so I could follow and in return I grabbed at her every time she slipped. It was easy to see why Robin had wanted to be her pair. Roger and Will didn't fight over who went first anymore and happily followed behind the rest of us. Robin led, and did so as a very slow pace so as to allow Godfrey time to check for anything familiar. It didn't help that everywhere looked the same and Godfrey didn't recognize a thing.

Our breakthrough came with an actual breakthrough. Roger was starting to get cocky, tried a giant leap, failed, fell and the large crack that followed hinted at a few broken bones. He fell quite far, far enough that we couldn't see him, even from the light from our torches.

"I'm fine," he called up to us. It was hard to tell if he was sarcastic.

"The foolish lad reminds me of Richard," Godfrey said "always attempting to do what he couldn't do…" He trailed off as he remembered. "It couldn't be."

Robin understood and yelled to Roger "how deep is the drop?"

"Not very but I can hole heartedly back up that there is quite a few jagged rocks on the sides." Again it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic.

Robin bent down to try and see as much as he could. Marian pulled him back up and turned to Godfrey. "Are you sure this is where Richard would hide it before we get Robin gets trapped too?"

"Well we can't just wander round this cave forever," Will said.

Marian looked ready to fight with Will but Godfrey stopped them. "I'm sure. This is where I lost him last time we were here. I'm not sure if he actually hid it here but it's our only lead."

I held the torch as low as I could to allow Robin to see a little.

"You have to get a torch down there somehow. You can't just fumble around in the dark. You could fall down even deeper and we could never get you back then."

"So I have to climb one handed and possibly fall to my death or do it in the dark and possibly fall to my death?" Robin asked in an overly cheerful tone.

"This is isn't safe!" Marian said.

"The world can't stop because you're worried about the man you love," Will retaliated." That silenced her.

Robin took the torch from me and prepared to leave. "You know Marian, that belittling thing works two ways. And I'll be fine."

All this talk of death was making Marian nervous. As Robin prepared to leave she suddenly leapt forward to embrace him. He was shocked but didn't seem to mind.

"This is really sweet and emotional but can you stop and get on with it," Will interrupted.

I tied some rope around him but didn't think it would do much if he fell. So he slowly made his way down the rocks, all the while gripping the torch while trying to maintain climbing strength. Everyone left behind wore the same worried expression. Will held his torch as low as he could to give Robin a little extra light and tried shouting directions to him. These were about as useless as everything else we could offer. We could see even less than him.

Eventually we heard the thud, telling us that Robin had landed safely and we all let go of the breaths that we had been holding.

"What can you see?" I yelled down at him.

"Rocks," he yelled back in a futile attempt to be funny.

If I could have, I would have hit him. "Yes we could have guessed that," I yelled, without trying to sound sarcastic "but is there anything else?"

"Oh yes, there just so happens to be a flaming box that spells the word document," he called up, clearly annoyed, "give me some time will you Allen! The document is exactly going to leap out at me is it?"

There was no further yelling as the searching began. "I'm fine by the way," Roger yelled up, but we ignored him. There were bigger things on our minds.

Still, we busied ourselves with pulling Roger up. Distraction took our minds off possible danger. Robin attached the rope to him and we tried as steadily as we could, to pull him out. He didn't understand the difficulty of the situation and just complained the whole time. We had half a mind to leave him there. Upon his arrival, Marian concluded that he had a broken ankle as well as quite a few broken arms in his arms. Getting him out of the cave and down the rock face was going to be a nuisance. "Are you sure we can't leave him here?" I muttered. The oaf tried to hit me upon these words, forgetting his broken bones. It is safe to say that he felt far more pain and I savored the victory.

Meanwhile, Robin was fumbling around in the minimal amount of light he had, searching for absolutely anything. As far as he could see this section of the cave went on for a long stretch of space. It could take days to cover it all. Days we did not have. So he searched. Time was no object. Will and Roger began to complain of course but there was nothing they could do. Roger was no longer in fighting shape and to attempt to get Will down there could result in the same fate. I paced, as I do when I get nervous. Marian hated it when I did this but she kept her mouth shut. Godfrey on the other hand had fallen asleep. There was no way of knowing how long we had been down there but it was quickly growing longer. "You ok down there?" I yelled, hoping for good news. I got my head bitten off.

"This is useless," he yelled back, followed by a crash that made us all jump. The rocks we were sitting on, shook as the whole foundation rock.

"Are you crazy?" Will yelled down. It appeared that Robin, in an act of frustration, had hit the wall with the hilt of his sword. He knew it was foolish afterwards but he was growing increasingly frustrated. We all clung to anything to stabilize ourselves as we prayed that rocks we would not fall, not only crushing Robin but also killing us in the process.

"Is everyone alright?" he called up, clearly worried.

"Yes Marian is fine," Roger yelled back.

The thought of all of us, or Marian at least, falling to our death quickly pulled him out of his anger as he quickly surveyed the damage. In a half hearted attempt to try and ensure our safety, he tried putting some of the rocks back in the large gap he had created.

He knew something was happening when he found that one of the rocks was unnaturally square. Feeling it over in the dark, he noted its smooth feel and the jagged hole that could only be a keyhole.

The feeling of joy when he called out to us was one unrivalled through our times in Sherwood.

It was however, rivaled by the horrible feeling we gained when we found that we couldn't open it.


	52. Hope

Roger introduced me to some rather colourful language that day. It would have been inappropriate to stop him. All he was doing was voicing the thoughts going through each of our own minds. Will took a more practical approach and hurled the box towards the wall, as hard as he could. Anything to take away a minor portion of the anger. This was not the best idea to say the least. Once again, the foundations shook but this time, the movement was bigger. Rocks from higher levels disjointed and fell towards us. Robin quickly covered Marian while the rest of us, not so bravely, covered our own heads. Luckily, these rocks were not large and we avoided being badly hurt.

"You're welcome," Robin said to Marian as the dust cleared and normal sound seemed to return.

"I didn't need your help," she muttered. "Must you always be so demeaning?"

"Chivalrous," he corrected while he nursed the quickly forming bruises. She noticed this and stopped complaining.

"Shouldn't someone try and retrieve the box?" Godfrey asked, obviously refusing to move himself. Will cautiously edged over the larger rocks, grumbling all the way. Reaching as far as he dared, he retrieved it from the large outstanding rock from which it had landed.

"I think there is a carving on the lid," he called back. We all dared to hope for an answer. Will paused, saying, "it's Prince John's insignia."

With that, Roger's fowl language made a return.

"That doesn't mean…?" Marian tried to ask what was on our minds but trailed away.

'It means nothing," Robin answer, with plenty of surety. We were all unsure of how much of this surety was false.

For once, Godfrey saw fit to acknowledge our crushed dreams and did not begin his words with a word to our apparent failure. "This was most likely intended so that Prince John would be present for the opening of the document as he appears to have the key. We must also ensure that each member of the council is present so that there can be no argument over the outcome."

Roger heaved himself into a seating position to moan, "So what you're saying, is that we did all of this work to simply hand the box over to our enemy. Well why didn't you tell us that in the first place and we could have made Prince John send his own men to risk their bloody lives."

"Oh stop your God damned moaning!" Godfrey yelled, surprising us all. "How was I to know that Richard would do this? The best we can do is to follow his wishes. Do not forget your oath to honour the document, no matter what I states."

"We will keep that oath," Robin told him, silencing Roger with little more than a look. "But first we must concentrate on getting everyone back to land safely."

I recall thinking how horrid the journey up had been for us all. The journey back made this seem more like a simple stroll through the forest. Roger had an arm around both Will and Robin as they carried him across the rocks. Marian led, torch in hand while I followed close behind as she tested each rock for security. Making me all the more nervous was the fact that Robin was watching intently, relying on me to ensure her safety. Each slip created panic in his eyes. Yet despite all of the factors of impending doom, we reached the mouth of the cave in one piece.

Then there was the cliff. "I personally believe that we should just throw Roger down and see how he goes," Will suggested cheerily. If only this were an option.

"And I suggest we do the same to you," Roger said angrily.

"And I suggest you take the path," Little John said, surprising us by stepping out from behind a boulder. A very large one obviously as it had the means to hide such a large man from us. He gestured to his right, illustrating a dirt path that we had not seen during out previous trip thanks to the darkness of the time. But now, in broad daylight, there was no way of being unable to see the path that winded down and despite it twisted turns and height, we could see the end, located not far from where the rest of the gang sat in waiting. "The rest of us had nothing to do while you all took your time up there," John explained. "So we did a little exploring and found that. I suppose it could have made the climb a tad easier couldn't it?"

"I have no words left to express," Roger sighed. I suspect him to be at the stage of complete exhaustion as he gave up any ounce of hope and no longer felt a thing.

"So did you find anything?" Little John asked, still cheerful. He gained many a glare as we refused to answer as we descended. He simply shrugged and took over the duty of lugging Roger down the path. He had never been one for lulling someone, even in injury. Hence, Roger had to endure a rather bumpy and horribly uncomfortable journey as he almost flung over Little John's shoulder and carried about in the same manner as a sack of potatoes.

Aside from many a disgruntled sigh from Roger, the journey down was silent. Everyone seemed to too defeated and no one enjoyed the idea of forcing this emotion on the rest of the gang. For of course, they were all initially excitable, thinking that we succeeded. As I walked in front, the sight of an unknown box in my hands greeted them all. They were then granted a few moments of victory, halted only by the looks on each of our faces. I could say nothing, rather sinking down in the sand beside Ben. "We found the box but Prince John has the key," Robin told them simply. "We now must journey to back to Nottingham to hand it over it to him."

All excitement was gone as everyone followed my example and sunk down on the sand. "Well I am certainly not moving yet," Will said, making no attempt to disguise his annoyance. "We did all of that work so therefore, I am resting. At the very least it will grant a few more moments of peace before Prince John has his victory." None of us were bothered to change his mind as we all thought the same.

And so we sat around in our complete devastation. But Ben would have none of that. He was never one for self-pity. "Marian," he said, calling her attention as well as most of ours. Her eyes flickered up and saw a devilish look on his face. "You know, I don't believe that you were properly punished for leaving us without so much as a goodbye." John chuckled at these words, stretching and clicking many a joint in the process. In turn, she slowly but surely tensed herself, readying for apparent battle. "I see no better time than the present," Ben said, that devilish look still there.

"What do you mean?" she asked nervously.

"I mean for nothing," he said with an evil smile. "But I do find that we are on a beach and you have made no effort yet to swim."

She edged backward slowly. "Perhaps because it is winter and rather cold?"

"John," Benny called. "I do believe that she may need some assistance." And before she could run, she was already in John's grasp. Somehow, he held her so her arms crossed herself and he held each arm in place. No matter how she struggled, she could not break free from his hold on her. No begging would release her either. All Merry Men on the sides would not dream of helping her but rather laughed uncontrollably at the situation.

Finally she became desperate. "Robin!" she called, "please help me!"

John and Benny paused, waiting their master's verdict. He considered her, and his options. "You must see my dilemma here Marian. I try and help you, multiple times. But normally, you repay me with talk of being demeaning. And then you keep up this constant talk of leaving me once again. So do you have anything to say to me? Anything that would make me considering rescuing you from this?"

It was obvious the kinds of things he wanted to hear were things that she would refuse to say. So she was silent. Silent until she was carried away and she screamed all the while. She struggled impressively, considering her size and Much, Bryce and Will decided to help. In mere moments she had been flung in the ocean, screaming all the way. It was winter and the poor girl must have frozen. But she had a fighting spirit and sought to hurt her attackers. Anger gave her strength and Ben soon joined her in the water. The others were another story, John being the worst as he proved unmovable. But this didn't stop her as the poor girl pushed away. Robin seemed to have had enough of laughing with the rest of us. "I guess I'd better help her," he sighed, pulling off his vest and shirt. "Whose with me!" Surprisingly, most of the Merry Men cheered and raced to the water, all leaping at John until he too fell into the murky depths.

"You are all fools!" I called. "It's a long trip back to Nottingham and they each shall freeze."

"Let them have their fun!" Roger told me. It was clear that he would be right there with them if it were not for the broken bones he had gained. Keighley pretended to assist him but she clearly had no wish for the cold either.

Apparently no one else had such a worry as it became difficult to make out figures once the giant splashes of waves were being pushed towards each other. Marian was still the victim of choice and Robin had thought to join her side. This meant for the two of them to be rather outnumbered and therefore practically defeated. Robin turned his back to the gag, protecting not only his own eyes but also Marian's as he blocked her. "Better late than never right?" he said with a smile. Once again, they seemed extremely close to sharing a kiss. But once again, Marian saw fit to ruin everything. The evil smile was now worn on her face as she almost blinded him with a wave of freezing cold water. And then all bets were off. There were no teams as everyone simply took enjoyment in playfully attacking the others.

And then we began to journey back to Nottingham. I must say, I loved every moment of their suffering. Every wet outlaw had never experienced such cold and internally scolded themselves repetitively. "I'd give my right hand for a blanket," Little John muttered. He was, quite ironically, the member who faired the worst with the cold and was quickly turning blue. The sight of Nottingham could not have appeared sooner. Even if it meant that Marian left us.

"I guess we're parting ways then?" Robin said to Marian as it was obvious that she couldn't just waltz up with outlaws.

"Aren't we always?"

"We don't have to be."

"Not the time," Roger said as he spurred Robin forwards. None of us had any doubt that we would see Marian again before the night was over. Nothing could possibly keep her away from the grand realisation.

Gang members were split up and sent to every corner of the castle to fetch Council members, all of whom seemed thoroughly disgruntled at being awoken at such an hour. The ride back to Nottingham had taken longer than expected and the sun had long since set after all. But each Council member quickly sung a different tune upon hearing that we had discovered the document.

In a large, determined group, we all strode to Prince John's quarters. The sight shocked him slightly and he was astonished when Robin placed the box on the desk in front of him. "Open it," Robin said simply.

A smile spread across Prince John's face. "I should have known that I could trust you Hood. You brought it right to me." The smile left quickly as he realised how close he was to having his destiny changed drastically. His eyes flickered across the room, knowing that each person present would not hesitate to turn against him if the odds did not turn in his favour. But there was no option. Pulling at the key from around his neck, he turned the lock. Never before had a single sound been so deafening as that clicking sound had been, though our anticipation could have been a factor there.

"Wait!" Roger called out, shocking everyone. "Why do we trust him to be the one to read it?" He stood beside the Sheriff who glared at him, clearly annoyed at the delay of the reading. Everyone else seemed agreed that they would rather Prince John would not be the one to know first.

It would have been rather difficult for Prince John to change the results if need be. Nonetheless, Godfrey stepping forward to read aloud. "It is with great regret that I, King Richard I, must depart from my beloved England for a greater purpose. In my absence, I left my youngest surviving brother on the throne in my place. Yet I fear over the decision with the knowledge of the past. For my brother has a love of power and will do anything to maintain this. It is my greatest wish that this document is never needed for I wish for nothing more than John to rule in peace until I return. But if these words are being read, there is obviously great trouble about and therefore I cannot leave John as the monarch. Sadly I have few others relatives and ever fewer with the ability to rule. Hence I decree that no single ruler shall be named. I would rather that someone that I trust have the official title and to then surround themselves with a trusted council, to which all decisions shall go through until a suitable ruler can be named by this said group. I name my niece, Marian, daughter of William IX and Lady Helena, William being the son of King Henry II and Lady Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, to be this leader. While she has no experience in politics, I have seen her grow and know that she will always surround herself with trusted people and do only what she knows is right. I encourage my brother John to seek position in the council. I wish everyone luck in future conquests and rest well, knowing that England shall be in safe hands."

There was silence. All eyes flickered about to settle on Marian herself, who had obviously snuck into Prince John's quarters earlier on. The Sheriff appeared ready to throw himself from the battlements, clearly at a loss. Prince John said in a stunned silence. Aside from these two, everyone rejoiced. For it seemed that England was to enter a new time. A time of peace. Each Merry Man danced, cheered or simply sighed in relief. Marian herself, seemed slightly faint, still unable to understand the words.

The council members seemed the same. "A woman cannot possibly rule," he said in a disgusted tone.

"She won't be," Godfrey told him. "Were you temporarily deafened? She will rule only in name while those with extraordinary merit and talent shall assist."

The Sheriff could only shake his head in disgust. "And I suppose those trusted few will be outlaws? How is that appropriate? England will be doomed."

"Our first act will be to punish you if that were the case," Will snarled.

But all celebrations seemed destined to be short lived. Prince John acted in a way that none of us predicted. He showed no anger or woe. Rather, he seemed deep in thought. "What if there was an error on the document?" he asked quietly.

"Good luck finding it," Little John scoffed. The Council appeared to be doing their best but nothing seemed to appear. There were the few who seemed upset at this but the majority seemed rather thrilled with the idea.

Prince John ignored this and recited back part of the document, with superb accuracy. "Marian, daughter of William IX and Lady Helena, William being the son of King Henry II and Lady Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine." Everyone appeared puzzled. And then he ruined everything. "Such a person never existed. William and Helena never gave birth to a third child. Marian was never their daughter. She was mine."

"What?" Marian said, attempting to hide her sudden intake of breath. "You stoop low Uncle."

"He is clearly mad," I told everyone. "I have known Marian almost my whole life. I recall seeing her shortly after she was born. To Helena, might I add!"

"But did you see Helena during her pregnancy?" Prince John asked calmly. I quickly became nervous.

"Well, no. I recall her taking a long journey with Prince William, during which Marian was born early. They returned to Nottingham with her." Many a fact became slightly brighter at that moment. It seemed all too convenient that no one had witnessed Marian's birth. And looking closely, Marian bore slight resemblance to the man sitting across from us. Resemblance that had never been struck between the man she had called Father.

"Why would you lie about this?" Marian asked. Never before had I heard her sounding so confused, angry, upset and lost.

Prince John never changed from this serene calmness. His eyes turned to stare upon her with barley a hint of recognition. "I didn't want you," he said simply. "You were a scandal. William, being the man he was, offered to pretend that you were his child to save our the image of our family amongst the people." He seemed done with her as he turned back to the Council members. "I have records to prove this. Letters between myself and my brother as well as records from her birth. I can happily show you gentleman."

They insisted on seeing but we knew it was useless. John wouldn't make up such an elaborate lie to stall.

Godfrey sighed, voicing what everyone was afraid to think. "This makes the contract incorrect. From this, there is no one it can be honoured. Even if it were to be fought, Prince John is now Marian's guardian and would rightfully be in line to the throne before her. I'm sorry."

It was over.

Marian ran, overwhelmed by all that she had learnt. Robin was unsure as to whether to follow and risk showing their alliance. He only hesitated for one moment and quickly followed her, ignoring the look that the Sheriff gave him.

She was a fast runner but he found her a few corridors down. She had slumped on a wall and slowly sunk the floor. She had an odd mixture of shock, anger and disgust on her face. Eventually the betrayal won out over her emotions as the idea that her beloved parents had lied to her all this time. She hated crying but in light of the circumstances she didn't even care that Robin was watching. He did his best to comfort her but had never been faced with such a situation before. All he could do was hold her.

.

The rest of us stood around Prince John's chamber, unsure of our next move.

"Now what?" Thomas said, playing with his hands all the while. This had always been a sign with him. He only did it when he was holding back panic.

"Prepare for the reign of John." Michael told him.

That feeling of triumph was a long and distant memory.

The utterly defeated memory was new.

"We should go," Thomas said, being the only one able to voice any thought. We were glad for the leadership and trailed back to Sherwood. Each step seemed harder than the last. For this would be a walk that apparently we would be doing for quite some time. No more was the end to out our outlawry in sight. Prince John would rule until we died.

Finally we reached camp. Amelia and Lilly could sense that something was wrong but knew better than to ask. Michael whispered to them and they made no attempt to hide their shock. We all slumped to the ground. Sitting in sorrow seemed the only option.

It took a long while for anyone to speak again. "Take a good look around gents," Bryce said as he gestured around Sherwood, "we are going to be here a long time."

"A long time?" Mark asked in disbelief. "Forget that. I'm out of here." We all looked at him in shock. He stood anyway, preparing to leave. "Well you're all thinking the same thing," he continued. "Now Prince John is unrivalled, people will align with him. You know that Prince John will try and kill the King and rule England forever. How can we possibly fight that?"

Robin slammed his sword into a tree causing everyone to jump. None of us had seen him approach. Marian stood by his side, clearly just as nervous as us. "By all means," he said as he gestured back the way we came, "leave Mark. Go back to living your life on a barstool. Drink away any good you could have done. Be my guest, since we're doomed anyway there's not much point sticking around. But if it's not too much to ask, I implore you, look up from your drunken stupor every once in a while and see all the tortured families, torn apart by Prince John and think of how you stood by and did nothing. Sure our lives are terrible at times and we all think 'why me? Why can't someone else step up and be brave?' Because basically, they won't. Now you can continue to act like cowards or you can step up and be the hero England needs."

Mark sat down quickly, unable to look away form the ground in shame. A silent sigh seemed to circulate the group, as they knew Robin's words were right.

Lilly seemed to be the only one able to function. "Right," she said, snapping into action. "Dinner is running a little late so Amelia and I are going to need some help. And yes, that means all of you. I don't want to hear one word about it! Then you had better all prepare for tonight. I suspect that Prince John's treasuries are growing a little too large. Then maybe some drop offs in Nottingham. Well? Get to it!"

We had never been more thankful for Lilly as we followed her orders. "You too Marian," she called, "you have no reason to be excused." Such words were just what Marian needed. The entire trip back, Marian had walked in silence. Robin had insisted that she could not stay at the castle on such a night. But she feared Sherwood. For she was now the daughter of our mortal enemy. In her own head, this meant that we would no longer care for her. She was sure that we would never wish to see her again. She had always been slightly mad. Lilly gave her a brief hug before racing to the kitchen area to order everyone about some more; she appeared to enjoy her newfound power. Amelia was next in line to see Marian but the words 'brief hug' were never in her vocabulary.

Friar Tuck came to camp shortly after and witnessed an odd sight. The only thing that was odd about it was how ordinary we all acted. He came with the idea of calming us and restoring hope.

He found that hope never really left.

Greeted with smiles, his jaw nearly hit the forest floor. "Come Tuck," Amelia called. "Join us for dinner."

He shuffled over to join us. Greg happily passed him a bowl, of which he barely acknowledged. "Well I must say, you are all taking the news better than I expected."

"We are the Merry Men for a reason," Mark told him, smiling apologetically at Robin.

He was granted a nod back from Robin. "We all have moments of doubt," he said. "I suppose that we move on faster than others." Standing suddenly, Robin raised his glass. "To King Richard. The true King of England. We will continue to serve him, no matter what is thrown at us." Everyone raised his or her glass, cheering. "I cannot think of a greater group of people to serve him with."

Almost a whole year was spent on that document. And it was never to be mentioned again. Soon, other challenges would quickly replace it. We may not have gained anything, but neither did we lose anything. As Mark said, we are the Merry Men for a reason.

.

It amuses me how the year was still not finished. As bad as we thought this day was, there were worse ones less than weeks away.


	53. Wedding Chimes

Chapter fifty-three

In the grand spirit of this tale, I must mention a wedding towards the end of the year. And what is a wedding in Nottingham without someone to demand that it not go ahead?

The day after the document disasters began as any other day would. I rose first, eager to seize the day. Will was not far behind me and was quickly looking for a training partner. "Pick up a sword," he called to me, "or are you going to be your normal cowardly self?"

"It is far too early to move," I groaned, feigning exhaustion. I simply had no wish to be defeated so early in the day. Early embarrassment usually meant for a bad day. And with Will, 'if' was never a question. It was never _if I was defeated. _With Will, it was a question of when.

"Oh stop being such a woman!" he called to me. He regretted his words quickly. Lilly was standing behind him with a large wooden spoon in hand. Knowing Lilly, this could easily turn into a weapon. She had her eyebrows raised, always a dangerous image. Nothing spurs on a woman like than a brother making a crude comment toward her gender. And Lilly enjoyed a good fight.

Rather than using her spoon as a weapon, she offered him the handle. "Make your own breakfast," she said, practically in a snarl.

Thomas could not hold back laughter at how easily Will was controlled. "You fool," he told him between spouts of laughter. "You never let a woman hear you insulting her."

He was unaware of Martha standing close by. "But it is perfectly alright to do so behind her back?" Thomas wilted in the same way as Will and was quickly instructed to join him in the punishment of slave labour. Luckily for them, Amelia could never sit by and let them butcher a perfectly good meal and insisted on helping. Her 'helping' generally meant taking on but there was no complaint from the other two.

The early morning sounds were quickly accompanied by the strumming of Michael's lyre as he filled camp with a happy little tune. This melody woke a few more outlaws who happily sat beside him, waiting for food to be prepared. They would never dream of helping obviously. Roger blamed this on his agony from the fall of the day before but this injury seemed to come and go as he pleased. The only act of help that came from Much and Mark and the act was the act of ordering everyone to hurry up. Much always grew very hungry first thing in the morning. And at every other point of the day. Mark simply required food to avoid the sick feeling in his stomach. He had tucked into his flask a little too much after everyone else had retired to bed.

Keighley seemed to be in a good mood for once, being the only one to help with breakfast. Amelia had always been the type to see the good in everyone and therefore welcomed her into the fold. Ben and Bryce kept a great distance, not wanting to be as inconsiderate as those refusing to help but still not wanting to have to do work.

As the morning wore on, it was time to force Little John and Marian from their beds. It took almost the whole gang to pull at Little John, as it did every morning. Marian had been placed in the South-East cabin again, against everyone wishes but the night had past with no injuries thankfully. There could never be peace however and Michael and Roger were all too happy to dish out payback. She had tried hard to be silent during the night, remembering their opposition to tossing and turning but staying still proved impossible. So when the morning came, they happily leapt at her, pulling her from the warmth of bed and out into the early winter air. Anger was an understatement.

And of course, when Marian rose, Robin was quickly close by.

The only person who did not participate in the usual morning activities was Greg who seemed extremely distracted by something.

No one really noticed of course. Breakfast continued as usual. "So Marian," Robin asked, "are you staying for breakfast? For the day? Forever?"

She laughed in a sarcastic manner and told him, "As much as I would love to, which by the way, I don't, I can't. Annie's wedding is today."

Each Merry Man shuddered at the idea. "That is one brave man," I muttered, "marrying Annie."

This was the wrong thing to say apparently as I angered Greg. "She is your sister!" he told me, "and you plan to sit by and let her marry a man who is only doing so for the money and power?"

I was shocked at this little outburst and unable to respond. Without another word, Greg stood up and headed for the exit of camp.

"Where are you going?" Robin called after him.

"Finally stepping up," he called back.

"Allen, follow him," Robin ordered. He was a good leader and worried when his men showed signs of madness.

"I already am," I said as they noticed that I had already slightly left the group before Robin's words. There was nothing noble about my actions however. I just wanted to watch.

I followed Greg to the place I least expected. The church. I never had him pegged as a religious man. Whenever Tuck came round, rambling about the importance of God, he never seemed interested. He was never amongst the members who attended church on Sundays. Everyone seemed to be bustling about for something. Annie's wedding had once again slipped my mind of course. For a while, I was extremely insulted at how I was not invited. Then I remembered the kind of relationship we had.

All the while I was extremely confused over why Greg would attend. I recalled that he had interacted with her a fair amount over the past few months. I'd say that she cared for him more than me, but there wasn't exactly a lot of competition. But in all honesty, I suppose they had been getting rather close. Well close by Annie's standard at the very least. With her, if you were not getting verbally attacked regularly, it meant that you were almost he friend. So I concluded that by Annie standards, they must be friends. This was rather strange.

He was early of course, as Greg was prone to be. Final preparations were still underway. This was completely understandable considering the elaborate celebration my sister had planned. It was strange to see how different a Church could appear under the guidance of two very different brides. I used to think that Marian had been an extravagant bride but that image was long since replaced with the sight of the Church for Annie's big day. I must say, it made the decoration's of Marian look worse than plain. I was immediately sneezing before I had even entered due to the extensive amount of flowers. It became rather impossible to see even an inch of wall behind them. It was easy to say that every tiny thing in the room reflected on Annie herself and the treasures and finery she so enjoyed. I personally didn't like any of it.

Watching Greg was rather amusing for a while. I suspected that he was a man on a mission and the mission was temporarily cut short when he realised that he was far too early. Now he was left with the question, what to do now? I learnt afterward that he knew that if he waited calmly, logic would take over and would leave. So he ran off, to mull some more.

I had nothing to do but wait. Knowing he would be back, I sunk into one of the back pews and watched the poor servants practically beg for death to be spared from the agony of that labour. I exaggerate of course. But I was bored. And boredom plays strange games on ones mind.

I then fell asleep. Yes, I fell asleep in a Church. And slept through the first half of my own sisters marriage service. But you know our relationship! Surely you understand! The day was already a cast improvement on what it would have been before I even knew the marriage was going ahead.

Anyway, I awoke for Greg's big entrance. "Stop the ceremony!" he yelled. "I have an announcement." Gasps filled the room, and these were genuine. It finally dawned on me that every gasp that occurred during Marian's service were greatly exaggerated. Everyone could see what was coming a mile away and most only went to see the spectacle. This was entirely different, no one expected any from a service involving any. Least of all herself. And she glared at him to show it. And if looks could kill, our poor Greg would be dead twice over. At least. Hadrian meanwhile, looked slightly uncomfortable but not overly worried. Marian and I were the only ones who could guess what was going on and I suspect that we both had the same worried and confused looks on our faces. "Why is everyone in your family incapable of having a nice quiet wedding?" The Sheriff mumbled from his seat to Prince John. Now, once the document never even made mention to Annie, Prince John had quickly stopped caring about her fate. Unfortunately, Hadrian had already been paid greatly so Prince John was looking for a way to regain his money. He hoped that Greg could be the way and found that he was actually listening for once.

Annie also cared greatly about the outcome and wanted nothing more than for Greg to leave quickly. "Greg get out," she almost spat at him. And she completely meant it.

"No I'm done being a coward. I overheard a conversation between Prince John and Hadrian. Annie, I'm so sorry. It's all a ploy. He's being paid to be with you."

She looked from Greg to Hadrian to Prince John and back again. The poor woman didn't know what to believe.

Hadrian leapt into lying mode. "Annie you know I'd never do that. I love you. I've loved you ever since the first time I saw you."

"He's lying," Greg yelled over top of him. "You've known something wasn't right for a while now. This is it. I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you."

Hadrian began to deny it but she stopped him. It was clear that Annie was preparing for a full out rant. Unfortunately, it was aimed at Greg.

"How dare you parade in here on my wedding day and spread such lies. You are nothing to me. We barley know each other yet you think you can control my life. What gives you the right?"

He considered. "You once asked me how I knew what love is. You even said that I hide behind my pathetic stories to disguise the fact that I have not lived myself. Well I do know that your heart skips a beat when you see them. And how that special person is the first thing you think of when you wake up and the last thing you think of when you go to sleep. I know this because I love you."

I, alongside with the rest of the congregation, waited with baited breath for her reaction.

Her reaction still makes me cringe to think upon it. For she laughed. She laughed right in his face. "Is this a joke? Is this some pathetic attempt from Robin to spite me? Kindly stop being a complete fool and ruining the happiest day of my life. Now leave before I have the guards throw you out."

He left a defeated man. He didn't care that I followed him. Marian ran out after us, trying to think of some way to comfort him but thought of nothing.

"Can you two do me a favour and never bring this up again?" he asked us.

We were both so shocked at the past events, we would have agreed to anything.

"So all in all, not a good day for any of us," Marian concluded as we heard the church bells chiming away, signaling the end of the service.

There was plenty more to come.


	54. Demons of All Sizes

Finally, the time had come to apparently return to our normal outlaw lives. The document was over and done with, thank the Lord, and we could finally return to our actual goal: the poor of England. Long ago, we had a plentitude of schedules and systems to ensure maximum time consumption was spread evenly around Nottingham's surrounding villages. Looking over those, we could see how they must have suffered. So suddenly our work was cut out for us as we struggled to catch up. The people never made mention to our poor effort over the past year. Instead, they were purely grateful. It wasn't as though we had completely neglected them; we had simply not gone to the same effort as previous. But that was all to change. So as the rotation of villages moved, we found ourselves preparing for a small outing to Clun.

Will leapt at the chance for a little time of isolation. "Robin, let's face facts, It's Clun. Do we really need to pair up? Now I know, it's a _safety precaution_. But seriously, it's Clun. Not a guard in sight! We don't even need the whole gang to go. I could probably go by myself and have the entire area completed in less than an afternoon."

Robin had no chance to answer before Michael practically leapt out of his seat, suddenly alarmed. "Clun?" he asked in surprise. "Since when do we go to Clun?"

"We don't," Robin told him. "Normally John does while we cover the forest trails. So a few of us will have to recover this while he is away."

Now Mark was the surprised one as he looked around in confusion. "Where did John go?"

"Give him a few moments," Will said calmly as Mark continued to examine camp for anything else he missed. He saw it too.

"And where is Amelia?" he asked, getting panicked. "This place is a mess!"

Will gave a mighty sigh. He had never really come around to Mark. "So John and Amelia are both not here. I wonder if that is connected?"

Poor Mark continued to sit in upmost confusion. Greg finally took pity on him. "Well they haven't had a lot of time for each other this year since we've been so busy. And tomorrow is their wedding anniversary. So they went to stay with Amelia's relatives in Derby."

"Yes, John has other things on his mind," Bryce said with a dark smirk on his face and a little twinkle in his eye. Roger hit him for such thoughts about our own Little John and almost Mother type figure. Lilly and Amelia glared from the side at such 'typical male behavior.'

"When did this happen," Mark said, scratching that horrid dirty head.

"A week ago," Greg informed him.

Mark sat still for a moment, slowly processing the information that a normal person can process instantly. Finally he seemed to be on the same page. "So who will cover John's jobs?" he said as we all groaned.

"That is what we were just discussing," Will said. "You idiot," he muttered. Then he turned back to Robin, "so as I was saying, please don't make me go to Clun. It's bloody boring. Or that the very least, let me go alone."

"You're alright Will," Robin told him. "You are far too useful on the trail." This was true, Will's skill in hand to hand combat was in far better use for potential dangers of robbing carriages. The small town of Clun had no need for anything, barley even a weapon for a precaution. John only went because it was his personal favourite village. He had always had a soft spot for children you see and Clun was known for the many youngins that skirted the streets.

So it was obvious that the task at hand called for a special kind of outlaw. The kind with the least skill. He needed a bit of independence though to accomplish a task alone. There was one obvious choice. Turning to Michael, Robin said, "so Clun? You think you can handle it? You've been before so you know the ropes."

Never before had I seen a man look so uncomfortable. Something was obviously wrong with Michael. "Yes well, last time I was in Clun it was have been over a whole year ago! So it would have changed and I probably wouldn't be any good. And what if something went wrong? Would you really want me there? There isn't a lot in this head of mine."

'Understatement of the week," Will muttered as he walked off, happily excused from Clun duty.

"Someone is in a bad mood," Greg said in a singsong voice, also rising to leave. "You'll be fine Michael. You're always telling me how you want a little more responsibility around here."

"There you go," Robin said with a flourish. "So it's decided."

It was clearly not decided. Michael started coughing. A lot. And there were obviously forced. "Oh that would happen," he said with false exasperation. "I know your rule Robin. Any sneezing or coughing outlaw can't be trusted to remain silent so he has to stay at camp. And right when I was about to get more responsibility. Of course!" Robin and I exchanged side ways glances of disbelief and confusion.

"If Clun is the easiest job, why does no one ask me?" Much asked as he wandered past, pretending to be busy.

Will's head snapped up from across camp as he heard an opportunity to insult yet another gang member. It was just one of those mornings for him when he liked to pretend that he was his old sullen self. But he sighed and went back to his work, "too easy," he said softly. Yes, the job called for someone with no skill. But Much was yet another step down from that. We were too kind to tell him this.

"Well, uh, you are just so much more useful on the trails Much," Robin said, avoiding eye contact.

I decided to help out my friend with his lies. "And do you really think you could independently organise drop offs for an entire village?"

Thankfully, Ben took pity on him. "I'll go with him," he called to us. "I do like Clun." There was nothing noble about this action. Both Much and Benny had a sly smile as they winked at each other. Like the rest of us, they had noticed Michael's aversion to Clun. The difference between them and us was that they cared enough to find out.

So from what I understand, they prepared a small speech that they said to every family upon their opening of their doors. It was said at great speed while paired with an overly innocent face in the hopes of finding anything out. While thrusting a package in the families face, they would say, "a token from Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Long Live King Richard the Lion Heart and all that. By any chance, do you know of a Michael?'

It took them longer than expected but they finally gained their answer. We had gone about our pathetic attempt at making an evening meal by the time they returned. It wouldn't have been pathetic if Lilly had deemed herself fit to help. But she claimed, "if Amelia gets a break, so do I." I suspect that she deeply regretted these words when she saw the plate presented to her.

Anyway, Ben and Much ran into camp, rather breathless and with an interesting look of disbelief and humour on their faces. Michael sunk down into his seat slightly. Enough for them to notice and for their grins to broaden. They had a whole charade planned to draw out the process and terrify the poor man. Ben began, pretending to calm himself and ask Much, "Do you know what I think the gang needs Much?" His voice was far louder than it needed to be and dripped with over exaggeration.

The same could be said for Much. "No Ben, I don't. What do you think the gang needs?"

"I think it would be a great bonding exercise if we just went around and admitted something to everyone. Some secret that no one knows about us."

"Why yes Ben, that does seem like a wise idea." Poor Michael sunk even further. Everyone else just rolled their eyes and hoped that they would get to their point. "Michael," Much said, sounding suddenly inquisitive, "why don't we start with you. Anything you want to admit to everyone about your private life? Anything at all? Anything, say, about anyone in Clun?"

"No," Michael said, suddenly finding his own feet extremely fascinating. "I can't think of anything."

"Oh save it Michael," Ben said, finally dropping the annoying act. "We met Adelaide today."

With a sigh, Michael also cut his act. "I don't know what she told you, but it is probably all lies. She has a habit of doing that. I don't know why I'm ashamed actually. I've done nothing wrong. Adelaide is this annoying woman from my past who has this almost infatuation with me. I don't know why, but she has always held a candle for me. It was about a year ago when I met her, during the last time you sent me to Clun, Robin. So I just avoided that area. Why provoke her further? I mean, you've met her," he said while gesturing to Ben and Much, "so you know what she's like. Completely mad!" They both gained a strange look on their faces that Michael did not notice as he continued. "And for the record, I would like to point out once again that I did nothing to encourage these feelings?"

Doing a double take, Ben's eyes widened slightly as he asked, "nothing? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely sure?" Much added.

"Completely," Michael said, folding his arms in determination. "Unless you count just being my amazing self. It's not easy looking as good as this and having the musical gift that I was blessed with. I suppose that it is both a blessing and a curse. You know, sometimes I wish I could be just like you lot. Life would be easier if I was plain."

The act of ignoring this comment confused me. Apparently, there was something much larger of the minds of Much and Ben. Slowly, Much said, "Michael, we know everything. You know that right?"

"Everything?" Michael asked, with genuine confusion.

The pair exchanged a worried look. "Oh," Benny muttered. "He doesn't know."

"Doesn't know what?" Michael asked, worried once more.

A short while later, Michael was holding his son.

The image was just wrong. Nothing had ever looked stranger than Michael holding a baby. His baby. A baby that looked just like him, right down to the thick mob of curly dark brown hair.

"Oh all the people to have a love child, how could it be Michael," I whispered to Will in astonishment.

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "He's a musician Allen," he said plainly, in a tone that said 'how did you not figure this out yourself.' He carried on, saying, "I'm surprised he hasn't got an army of them."

"An army?" I repeated in shock, sinking down into a seat.

"You really need to pay more attention," Will told me. "Michael does have a life outside of being Marian's best friend."

From that moment, I swore to take more of an interest in our suppose ladies man. I learnt a lot about him on that day. For starters, I could see why he was dis-interested in Adelaide. Michael was obviously a vain man and, in the nicest way possible, Adelaide was a rather plain woman. The spark of a once happy woman slightly remained about her but was overshadowed by the impeding sense of worry and exhaustion. The reason for this exhaustion was soon brought to light. That baby could cry. A lot. I always had a vision of the moment when a father meets his child for the first time. It didn't involve the baby screaming his head off and the Father looking as if he wanted to drop the baby and run. If anyone of us had a heart, we would have noticed that our friend was having a panic attack and could have greatly benefitted form us taking the child off his hand for a mere moment. Don't get me wrong, we all noticed. We just had no wish to be burdened ourselves with that little demon. Finally, Robin showed exactly why he was our leader. He saw weakness in one of his men and took the burden upon himself to spare another. By this, I mean that he offered to hold the baby. It was not as big of a sacrifice as we originally though as Robin seemed to have a hidden talent with babies. He stopped crying almost instantly. Everyone reluctantly lowered their hands from their ears as silently as they could. Roger made a motion to sneeze and was met with a multitude of angry stares. He managed to hold it in thankfully. Rather than be grateful, Michael scowled at Robin for being able to do something with his own son that he could not.

Michael was then met with another challenge. Talking to the woman he had scorned. We could instantly see that a great deal of his story was incorrect. There was nothing 'smitten' about her. She was furious at him. If I were Michael, I would have rather faced the bawling infant.

She angrily led him into another room. Obviously she hoped for privacy. We could hear them perfectly. "His name is Ethan," she told him. The poor man simply nodded, unsure of what else he could possibly do. "Well," she said impatiently, "are you going to apologise?"

He clearly had no clue. "Regarding what?"

This was the wrong thing to say. I hit him, using the power of my mind, hoping he felt it somehow. She got mad fast. It was only to be expected. Then the yelling started. "For just leaving me after that night so I had to face those nine months of shame. People I didn't know were judging me, calling me names, refusing to hire me. I had a baby on the way with no job and no money. Did you know that my family threw me out? No you didn't. Because you didn't bother to come back."

"I didn't know," he said pathetically. Again I wanted to hit the idiot. He really thought that this excuse was legitament.

She stopped yelling as she held in tears. "I've done things. Things that I hate. Things I had to do to support your child. You know what? I'm done."

With that she stormed out, ever so kindly slamming the door behind her which set Ethan off again.

"She is coming back, right?" Roger asked.

His only answer was Ethan's cries.

The answer to his question seemed to be no. With this realisation, came an extremely nervous outlaw. "What if she doesn't come back? I can't look after a baby. What are we going to do?"

"Well can start by holding your son," Robin told him. I imagine his motives were less from wanting Michael to bond with Ethan and more based on upon losing the crying baby out of his reach.

"You got him to stop crying before, why can't you do it again?" Michael asked, pleading to Robin.

Robin insisted and Michael ended up holding his baby.

"What happens if I drop it?"

"What happens if you drop him," I corrected. "Calling him 'it' won't make him any less real."

"Well if you're so super sensitive why don't you hold him?"

I stepped back hurriedly. Everyone was unsure over what to do next. "We can't just wait around here all night," I complained. "Why don't we come back to tomorrow?"

"And do what with Ethan in the mean time?" I asked.

"Well I think it's about time Michael got to know his son," Robin said as he gestured for us all to leave.

"Brilliant," Michael said happily, "Amelia will gladly take care of him." Stopping to hit himself on the head, he moaned, "she isn't there!" Stopping again, he proclaimed, "Lilly is a woman! Women love babies!" Keighley could see how his mind worked and quickly tiptoed to the back of the group.

Will laughed at the idea. Knowing his sister better than anyone, he said, "good luck with that one."

He was completely right. Lilly took one look at the screaming bundle of joy and mimed being sick. With impressive speed she had her cloak in one hand and was waving at us with the other. "I'll be back when that darling thing is gone."

"Where are you going?" Michael called, a look of despair quickly spreading.

The look slowed her down slightly. But Michael was going to have to do better than that to get rid of the baby. It did succeed in making her care enough to lie. "Tuck asked for my help with decorating the Church for a big service coming up. I do like to do things out of camp you know! And Tuck is all too happy to give me jobs. It would be rude to cancel. You'll be fine though."

"He asked for my help too," Roger said and ran after her. He would do anything to avoid the noise.

"Wait," Robin yelled after them. "Can you see if Marian will come and help?"

They snorted at the thought. "Well you haven't exactly made it so she wants to come around," Lilly said to Robin's questioning gaze.

After the wedding Marian had made it clear. In one week she would be returning to continue her studies in France. Rather then set the record straight for Robin, it motivated him to try harder. Lilly's words were true. Marian had not had the greatest wish to be around camp, mainly from fear of being locked in holding cells and being chased by exhausted outlaws. But none of this stopped Robin from plotting.

The first plot involved a bombardment from her closest friends. Namely Much, Michael and I. We became brilliantly placed outlaws in the market square one day as she wandered past. Pulling her to the side, we demanded that she spend more time with us. "And before you say it, you can't let Robin bother you," Michael told her "you know he's just using all this built up emotions and it'll blow over."

"It's not fair that we don't get to spend any time with you just because he is being an idiot," I complained.

"We missed you too," Much added.

She sighed and gave in. "Locksley Tavern tonight, be there," I told her.

I hated the tavern but we had an elaborate plan to give her one too many drinks and force a confession out of her. Thomas and Mark naturally announced they were coming as it was their home turf but it turned out Martha had other plans. She turned to Thomas saying "you said that you would spend some time with Oliver. It's time you got to know him. He is my son you know."

"She just wants someone to mind him so she can have the night off," he grumbled. But he knew better than to argue with her. Mark laughed at his friend and announced that he was still coming. Robin agreed that the more spies there were the better so the four of us went off to meet her.

That's the last thing I remember before waking up at camp with a thumping headache. I found a letter in my pocket addressed to Robin and handed it over. "Next time you send spies, try to send some who can hold their ale," he read aloud and shook his head at us in mock disappointment. It was obvious that he found the whole situation hilarious. Well it was until he realised that he had five days to convince her to stay.

He turned to Greg. "You know things about romance, what can I do?"

Greg was torn between helping out his friend and the woman who he already liked versus the glare his sister was giving him. He still suggested to Robin that he try covering her room in roses as women have been prone to enjoying such displays of affection.

Marian didn't. I ran into her that day and she asked me to pass on how she was forced to spend all evening smuggling those roses out or risk facing questions from Prince John and create lies that he could see through. Plus then she would have to talk to Prince John. She had avoided him ever since the realisation that he was her father.

So it seemed that another of Robin's plans had crashed and failed and he was quickly running out of ideas as she refused to come back to camp. But these were desperate times.

"Well now we really need her so Much, could you go and explain the situation to her?"

The rest of us got preoccupied. Before that moment we hadn't realised that Mark had been absent. But we knew the moment he came back. He came running in to camp, yelling, "Terrowyn is back!" He paused slightly to ask, "Why is Michael holding a baby?"

The rest of us snapped into action. "Looks like we're going to need that holding cell sooner then we thought."

"I thought he went to the Holy Land?" Thomas asked.

"Well obviously he's back," Mark said with an exasperated face. "And will someone please tell me why Michael has a baby?"

"Not until we sort out this mess," Bryce told him. "Terrowyn has information on how they plan to kill King Richard. The document was the only thing holding Prince John back!"

"Aren't you all forgetting something?" Michael called after us and held up Ethan slightly. Just to reinforce himself, Ethan started crying even harder.

"No _we _are not," Will said. "That is your problem. Have fun with that!" And with that, we all continued to prepare to leave.

"You cant leave me alone with it," he called after it.

"Him," I called after him. Unfortunately I made the mistake of half turning to mock him and during this, I lost track of where I was going and managed to trip and felt a large pain in my ankle.

So I was forced to remain at camp to help. I still refused to hold him. "You need to bond," I said as he tried to pass him to me.

Finally Marian showed up with Much but rather then helping, she fell about laughing at the sight of Michael holding a baby.

"I'm sorry," she sputtered out between laughs "Much tried to prepare but it just looks ridiculous."

Ethan didn't like her laughing just as much as Michael didn't and cried louder to show it. Michael yelled over top of him "well you can't do something about this?"

"He's your son."

"Fine but can you just hold him for a second, I have to find him some food."

She gave in and let Michael pass him over. Rather then go for the food as promised, Michael bolted towards to the exit. All laughter was gone from Marian as she yelled to us, "stop him!" But it was too late.

Now the three of us were stuck with a crying baby. At least Marian was able to quieten him down quickly.

"It's just a woman thing isn't it?" I complained, at a whisper though, so as not to set him off again.

"Well then why didn't you ask Keighley or Lilly to do it?" she asked, annoyed. She was very on edge and kept looking towards in the entrance in the hopes that Robin wouldn't come back. Or that he would. It was hard to tell.

"Lilly ran off at the first sight of a baby and Keighley-". I trailed off as I was unsure of what to say. Much also went quiet at the mention of Keighley.

"Ok what don't I know?" Neither of knew what to say. "Darn it I will scream if you don't tell me and what do you think Ethan will do?"

"Much is in love with her but she turned him down," I quickly said without thinking. He glared at me and I gave him a look to tell him 'would you rather that the baby cry again?' Thankfully, Marian seemed to be just as happy to leave the topic as Much.

"You know what Marian," I said, pulling Much with me. "You seem to have everything under control and knowing us, we will make a really loud noise and set him off. So maybe we should get as far away as possible."

"Get back here!" she whispered in the fiercest tone I have ever heard her use. But thanks to the baby, she couldn't actually yell and we pretended no to hear. Running to the back of camp, we were safe from the demon.

Meanwhile, Robin returned to one of the more meaningful images of his outlaw life. That moment when he walked into camp to see light shining through the trees upon Marian as she rocked a baby too and fro. The moment was ruined when she saw them. Still talking in a calm and soothing voice, she still managed to stoke fear into everyone's hearts as she said, "if any of your men ever leave me with their illegitimate children ever again, I will ensure that they are unable to conceive ever again with a very simple method."

Robin merely shook off the fear to update the rest of us. "We learnt nothing but they are definitely planning something. We managed to get close enough to learn that Richard is getting close to actually ending the war. This means they are going to work harder to kill Richard. Whatever they are going to do, they're going to do it fast."

Thomas coughed loudly to get Robin's attention. "Oh yes and Thomas got stabbed."

That got the three of us looking up in alarm. "In the arm," Robin continued but it still looked to be little more than a scratch.

"Someone take Ethan," Marian said, knowing that she would have to put her new physician skills to the test. No one wanted to. He was beginning to fuss and we all knew what followed the fussing.

"I'll take him," Robin offered and carefully took him from Marian. Amazingly, the fussing stopped.

"He likes you," Marian said, surprised.

"He's not the only one," he said with a little smile as he gave her and that knowing gaze. She looked uncomfortable as she ignored him and went off to Thomas.

"How much does it hurt?" she asked him as prepared the few things she had.

"It's alright," he said "it means I get out of quality time with Oliver tonight."

"What is it with this gang and their hatred of children?"

"The kid hates me."

"You hate the kid."

"Touché'"

Finally Michael came back. "It's about time," Marian said angrily. "Both you and Thomas need an attitude check. You both have an obligation to look after children now and rather then constantly avoiding it, you should both face your problems because they aren't problem. They are just children needing a father."

Then we all knew why she was angry and it had nothing to go with Michael or Oliver.

"Come on," I said, taking her by the arm and leading her away from camp.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." I didn't want to tell her that we were confronting her father until before we got closer as she could fight me off. Poor Thomas was left without a physician but I was sure that he would live.

I simply glared at any guards who thought of arresting me. Thy let me pass, probably because most weren't sure if the truce between the gang and Prince John was still going. Marian figured out where we were going at this point and as predicted, struggled. She may have been able to best me as a child but now I had grown stronger. Give us a sword or a bow and arrow and she would defeat me easily but she was still one of the physically weakest people I know.

I slammed the door open, hoping to make an impression and, still dragging her, stormed up to Prince John. He didn't look happy at seeing Marian and it seemed that he was avoiding confrontation as much as she had.

"It's time she knew the whole story," I demanded. He considered but looked like there was a whole lot of things that he would rather be doing.

Marian had finally come around to the idea of knowing. "You owe me this."

So he sighed and said, "get comfortable. It's a long story."


	55. The Defining Moment

He was still for such a long time. Obviously he was calling for strength. Such an action had never been seen on him before. The whole thing shocked me. Marian refused to move, standing instead. Always waiting. Finally, he looked Marian straight in the eye. "You know of your uncles."

She refused to break his gaze as she responded. "Yes, King Richard the Lion Heart. And my Father, William."

Watching Prince John with a clear mind intently proved to have benefits. For Marian was clearly distracted. I had the ability to see Prince John as no one else had before. Vulnerable. I could see that her words had hurt him deeply. He pretended that they did not obviously and I suspect Marian may have fallen for this. "Well, whatever they were, they were fools. And they didn't think much of me either. Isn't family fun?" Marian remained unmoved so he continued. "Well Richard was the eldest. And the best apparently." The emphasis on the word 'apparently," showed us both how Prince John viewed his eldest brother. "William wasn't much better, though I presume you would say otherwise."

"I would actually," Marian said. "You aren't half the man he was."

Prince John nodded, seemingly understandingly. "I've been hearing that my entire life. Richard was the ruler and William had the heart. What did that leave me?"

"Oh your life must have been so hard," Marian said with the hint of a scowl. "So your brothers were better than you. Such tragedy! You really think that excuses you for your actions?"

He laughed slightly. "Oh you misunderstand. I couldn't care less about them. About any of my family. I learnt early on that they were better and well and truly stopped caring. About everything."

"Brilliant!" Marian said, pretending to be excited. "You have no heart. Can I go now?" I suspect that a small part of her no longer wished to hear any of the story.

"Be my guest," he said as he gestured to the door. "But I was under the impression that you wanted to hear this. That I 'owed' you or some nonsense like that."

"That was before I found out the story consisted of how much you hate your family."

"Hate? Hate is a strong word. And very wrong. I only hate Richard. I was actually quite fond of Will. I simply said that he was a fool. Which he was. Now do you wish to hear the tale or not?"

Finally Marian sat down and closed her cursed mouth. Prince John was finally free to talk uninterrupted.

So his tale began.

.

.

.

.

Now, Prince John was obviously a terrible ruler so I would like to say that he made up for this with his wonderful ability of story telling. But I cannot. He was simply terrible at everything. So I shall take over, and tell the tale.

Picture if you will, a very young image of Prince John. Except was not the horrid leader of today. He was simply John. Still a little brat, but there was not a trace of the future horror he was to become.

Early in John's life, he recalled a ball. It began as many others had before it. With complete and utter boredom. Richard was in his element of course, happily rushing about various Nobles, interacting with perfect ease. Normally, John would find slight solace with his brother Will. But Will had recently met a young lady named Helena and was courting her. That was the same Helena that one day he would wed. So John was alone. And he hated it. His Father had not yet bothered to speak one word to him and in doing so was denying John the one thing he secretly longed for.

Looking around the room, all he could see were people that he despised. So he left, half expecting and hoping for someone to stop him. They didn't. He was a foolish young boy in their eyes and they were glad to be rid of him. Such thoughts only spurred him on.

And then he thought only of petty revenge. Peering down the hallway for guards, he pulled a small dagger from the hilt in his belt. To calm your fears, he meant only to tear at one of his Father's prized paintings, but considering that it is Prince John, I can see how you would jump to other conclusions. Now he knew nothing of wall art and stared at each article for a while, attempting to decipher which would hurt his Father the most.

Just as he had settled on the closest tapestry, an unknown voice rung out. "Don't waste your time with that. It may be big but the design is simple. Barley any time to make. And I'm guessing you want something better." John was instantly turning left and right in a desperate attempt to place the voice. Finally he looked up and saw her. A young girl had somehow climbed and seated herself on the beams of the corridors. To see her now would startle some. For to look upon her was the same as looking at a younger Marian. She was about the same age as John and was also strikingly beautiful, even as a child. That similar golden hair gleamed in the candlelight as the curls cascaded down her back. Her eyes went further in similarities to Marian than simply the colour blue. Both women had this way of looking at you. And with that look, you could instantly tell that deep thought occurred behind them. There was far too much in her head you see. At the time of the telling, Marian's own eyes were on the floor as she unsure of how she should feel at being compared to her Mother.

Anyway, John has never been, nor is he now, someone who could take criticism well. Therefore, he instantly decided that he didn't like her. He would have been perfectly happy slashing the tapestry, but now he knew of it's worth and he thought she made him look a fool. So he simply glared at her, hoping to strike fear and ensure she would either be silent or leave. She had no intention of doing either. As he turned to the painting to his left, she called out, "that is just as bad! Honestly, you would be doing your Father a favour destroying that!"

Once again, John was surprised. "How did you know?" he stuttered. He had never met her before in his life and yet she knew exactly what he was doing before he had even spoken to her.

The following was said at an incredible pace. For she responded saying, "I saw you inside with King Henry so I can only assume he is your Father as a King would never allow a normal child to be in their company otherwise. I could also tell you were angry with him. I'd say that there are two elements to that. On the surface, you are angry that he made you attend this ball because you find them dull and no one speaks to you anyone. And all you really want is a decent conversation with your Father because you want him to love you. So that is your second surface. You are furious at him for not showing you the love that he seems to have for other things. And you had to take this anger out on something. And you can't just go around cutting up England so you couldn't attack his love of country. Nor could you hurt your brothers and you do think that he shows them love that he never shows you. So you had to focus on something of his you could destroy and it is commonly known that King Henry loves fine art. So you came out here in an attempt to feel good about yourself by hurting him by any means possible. But what you fail to realise is that he loves this art very little. It isn't the art he loves, it is flaunting his wealth. Honestly, you are probably just doing him a favour with all this for you are giving him reason to purchase yet another frivolous item just so he can have all of the attention over his gold."

John had never felt more confused. He was silent for a few moments and finally said, "are you mental?"

"Not mental," she said in a bored tone, eyes once again on the book in her hands, "Just wise beyond my years and underappreciated." Really, she was just extremely perceptive and had an almost sixth sense for reading people.

"And wrong," John muttered, though he went to special effort to ensure that she heard these words.

She raised an eyebrow at that. "Excuse me? I am never wrong. What was I wrong about?"

"I don't care about my stupid Father. He can go off and die for all I care. I don't want his love and you make me sound like some pathetic sod seeking his affections."

"Oh I suppose I was wrong," she said, that eyebrow still up. "My new theory is that you are a pathetic sod who is seeking his Father's affections and all the while is in denial about it."

To say the least, John was furious. He wished desperately for something to insult her with but he could see nothing. He knew to go nowhere near her appearance, for her beauty was obvious and untouchable. She was dressed well enough, not as elaborately as some perhaps but it was obvious that she was not poor. And he knew nothing else about her.

Luckily he was spared as a tall man with matching blonde hair stormed out into the hallway. Upon closer inspection, John could see that his blonde hair was streaked with grey and many a wrinkle of worry was present on his face. "Clarice," he said, his voice sounding sharp and almost at a hiss as he attempted to keep his voice down, despite anger. "Get down from there this instant! You shame me!"

Clarice did not need telling twice as she scrambled to get down and follow him as he strode back. John chuckled under his breath. "Looks like I'm not the only one with Father issues," he said softly. She turned to glare at him but then turn to scurry on.

And that was it. For a while at least. For John did not see her again for ten years. Until they were both nineteen. And it was another ball of course.

Long before that time, John had long since given up on his quest to please his Father and began the kind of lifestyle that made Norman folk shudder. King Henry was lucky to even have his youngest son at the ball. Normally one would find John either drinking, gambling or in the presence of the entirely wrong types of women. But he had decided to grace his Father with his presence that night, solely for the purpose of messing things around for him. Already, little shenanigans had been occurring to displease the King's honoured guests as they were pranked and generally dismayed. Many a scream could be heard across the all, though none were traceable back to John, who laughed from the sides. His brothers were busy of course. Richard continued with his matters of state as he built future allies on his journey to the throne. William was busy with Helena, now his wife and their two children. So there was no one to stop John and his mischief. Until he ran into Clarice once more.

And when I say 'ran,' I do mean so in the literal sense. They collided as both attempted through a door on opposite sides without noticing the other. For once in his life, John was positively speechless as he laid eyes upon her again. For she was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. And still, she resembled Marian. Now normally, Normans always favoured wearing giant and elaborate gowns to such occasion. I never understood the point of them. Neither did she. Gowns such as those are made for the sole purpose to make the wearer appear more beautiful. She was already beautiful. Her simple blue gown made her stand out more than any other. But there was so much more to her than just beauty. John had been with many a beautiful woman in his time and had always been completely in control. But suddenly, he was completely lost. But a good sort of lost. There was just something about her. Something that made him completely unable to utter a sound as he was unable to regain his footing.

Clarice had always being extremely ungraceful and this was not the first person of the night that she had knocked down. Though she would never admit it, the same feelings John was feeling were also going through her. But she took a different approach and found that she was unable to stop talking. Although, this was a normal occurrence apparently so no fowl. She spoke so fast that John could barley understand her. At a rapid pace, she said, "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! You must think me such an oaf which I probably am after all, you're not the first person I've knocked over tonight and you probably won't be the last because I can't simply watch where I'm going ever. And I do mean ever because otherwise I would learn by now that there are other people in the room other than myself and these people have bones and these bones are fragile and they can also bleed which is just as bad as broken bones I suppose and I cause both and more and I do mean more. Anyway, are you alright?" John just nodded along and hoped she thought he understood.

Once it was established that he wasn't bleeding to death, both considered the possibility that it may be time for her to leave. John tried desperately to say something. Anything. But opening his mouth, all that came out was one long drawn out syllable. Once again, she was convinced that he was dying and began to panic again at the same fast pace.

Something about the way she spoke finally seemed familiar to John. And then memories seeped through of that horrid little girl who dared to speak the truth to him. He leant back slightly, eyes narrowing. She noticed this and looked at him a little closer. Then the realisation was mutual.

"You," she said with a dark smile of delight.

"You," he said with a grimace.

"Oh none of that," she said happily, "You know you really want to hear what I say."

"Please say there is a way to silence you," he said as he tried to leave. "The last thing I need is for you to sit there judging me. And doing it wrong might I add."

She only followed, suddenly very interested. "So you've grown. I think that means that it is time for some updated thoughts on your life. Oh do let me try! I assure you, I can tell exactly what you've done in our years apart."

"Be gone wench! You know nothing about me," he said dramatically, knowing that it would have no effect. But for that wonderful moment, she paused to take breath and he greatly enjoyed the mere moment of calm.

"Care to challenge that?" she said with a smile. "You let me guess exactly how you've spent these ten years and if I am honestly wrong, I leave. Which I won't be. I'm never wrong. Ever. Far too smart. Father says I get it from him which I suppose I do. Say what you like about him but he is a very wise man." She would have continued like this but a loud cough from John brought her back to earth. "Oh right. And if I'm right, you have to admit it. Publically. To everyone at this ball. I want you to make conversation with everyone you see and tell them how wonderful I am."

The thought made him sick to his stomach and he had grown ever so slightly wise himself in his years. "Let me guess, you are going to spout all of this rubbish about how I am still seeking my Father's approval and how I hide from civility to avoid this. You will say that my quest for guiltless pleasure is a way of attempting to hurt my Father and that I secretly hate myself. Well I will save you the time. Any Norman in that room could tell you that and I can assure you that it is all false. For I really did stop caring about my Father years ago and I would never make myself miserable to hurt him. I genuinely enjoy life as I live it and don't need you raising an eyebrow at my decisions. And now that's done, how about a different challenge. Let's discuss where you have been all of these years. I can guess quite easily. You are exactly where you were ten years ago. Still alone with Daddy for no one wished to wed you as you are such an intolerable know it all who will be forever alone."

Such words would have cut a normal person. She only laughed. "Feisty," she said with a laugh and despite himself, he laughed too.

He found himself talking to her for a great portion of the night. And when I say talking, I mean arguing. And both loved every minute of it. Never before had someone had the nerve to stand up to either of them and both loved a good fight.

And then the ball was over. The guests returned home. John meanwhile, found himself sneaking through his Father's documents, looking on the guest lists for a Clarice. Finally he found her, listed alongside her Father, Lord Phillip of Tonbridge. That made him laugh slightly. Tonbridge could barley be considered a stretch of land after it had all been burnt down years ago during a rebellion. There were also a few notes beside their names, stating that Lord Phillip still required a little more persuasion to rejoin King Henry's alliance after the said fire. A representative was being sent to Tonbridge estate shortly to continue with the development.

An earlier conversation between John and his Father suddenly stood out in his mind. One where he was encouraged to be involved in matters of state.

No one is sure how, not even John himself, but shortly afterward, he found himself in a carriage on the way to Tonbridge. But obviously, negotiations had nothing to do with anything. Boring matter were instantly taken care of as John struggled to stay awake. The first chance he had, he ran off.

And then she was there, in the garden, looking as beautiful as ever. She appeared startled to see him and he pretended to be the same. "Oh Lord," he said, faking anguish, "this is your estate isn't it?"

"Yes and I prefer to be not over run by fools," she said, rather excited for their fight to continue.

This must have showed. "You know," John said, "If I didn't know any better, I would say you were happy to see me."

She sputtered in supposed disgust. "You really think I am that desperate for attention?"

"Yes," he said bluntly. "Without a doubt. You really are." I now know where Marian got it from.

Now the tale became a little fazed here for John spent the entire summer in Tonbridge, spending every spare moment with her. Many wondered why the negotiations took so long but all these questions were answered when they plainly saw how taken the young prince was the Lady of the estate. And they could also see how taken she was with him. Both did their best to hide this. No conversation between them ended in agreement ever. In fact, heated debate became a regularity. Each became knowledgeable of exactly how to push the others buttons and enjoyed crossing the lines.

All the while, there was an undercurrent of something strange. Both were doing their best to make the other as jealous as possible. Some actions were small. Things such spending a little more time with a good-looking servant or little winks and smiles given to many a person. Some were larger. Both were at that prime marriageable time of their lives and many a suitor was presented. Neither had any interest in a single person presented to them. But you would never suspect such a fact from the way they acted. And they only acted in such a way when the other was in close proximity. Something was clearly happening. While doing their best to appear enemies, they seemed to be friends and all the while hiding something deeper.

The first defining moment occurred on the very last day of that summer. When John finally managed to achieve his goal of going a step too far. And he wasn't even sure how he did it.

Also visiting Tonbridge at this time was the Lady Thea of Suffolk. No one special of course. She came from a large family and therefore any possible dowry her family possessed was long since spent on her elder siblings. But still, John flirted away maliciously, continuously peeking over to see Clarice's reaction. He enjoyed it too, despite her best attempt to hide it. So he continued on until he was successfully slipped a room key and bidden good night with a wink. Every action was completely visible to the entire court, and most importantly Clarice. That was in no way the breaking point. That came after, when John came to speak to her.

"You've made quite the spectacle," she said simply. One could always tell that she was upset from how few words she would say. As we all know, the woman could talk at that horrendous speed when allowed. Anger held this back.

John merely shrugged and threw the key behind him. She turned in surprise, eyes widening as they attempted to mask the happiness that came from the action. Such happiness was short lived. "I can do so much better," John said proudly. "And after all, you know of her families situation. Barley a penny to their name. I do have standards you know! And poor is the worst you can get."

Normally she would simply roll her eyes at such a remark. But something was different. Tensing in anger, fists curled, she turned to him sharply. "Is there no end to your supposed superiority?" And away she stormed.

Due to John's brief moment of confusion, she managed to gain quite a bit of distance between them and she could stride very quickly. He had to practically run to catch up. But the time he had forced her to stop, she had reached the walkway. Tonbridge is known for its walkway that is quite the sight at sunset. You see, the castle was built besides a hill of great height so a walkway was constructed to get from the top of the castle to the top of the hill. It was around the middle of this walkway that Clarice had her arm grasped to slow her down.

"Where on earth are you going?" John said with a confused laugh. "So that's it? That was all I needed to have you properly mad at me? I should have done that months ago."

"You just don't get it John," she said, wild hand gestures flying about.

"So explain it to me," he said, clearly growing exasperated. "Come on! You love to talk. So come on! Spit it out!"

"I am just so tired of all of this pointless fighting," she yelled, clearly lying.

"Well I have news for you," he replied, also yelling. "Fighting is what we do! It's how we communicate! It's how we put up we each other! It's how we show love!" He had plenty more to list but stopped with a gasp when he realised what he had said.

"Oh so you love me now?" she yelled.

"Yes!" he yelled back.

"Good!"

Neither said anything for a moment as they were too busy glaring and attempting to maintain anger. It wasn't working. And then they were kissing.

As was mentioned before, fighting was what they did. So when they paused to take a break from kissing, they were instantly angry once more.

"So I suppose you'll want to marry me now," John said, pretending to be disgusted.

"Not if you don't want to marry me," she said, scrunching her nose with the glare.

"Well I do!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

And then they were kissing again.

But marriage was not as easy as all that. You remember Clarice's Father, Lord Phillip? Well he, like many other before and after him, had not taken to John in slightest. Some would say he was very protective over his daughter. Others would laugh at such an idea as protection implies love and many struggled to see any evidence of love from Phillip to his daughter. The only thing he seemed to want to protect was himself. Clarice on the other hand, loved her Father with all of her heart and did anything he told her. It made John laugh slightly to see how she judged the relationship of him and his Father yet she clearly had such a dysfunctional one with her own. But he would laugh no more now it affected him. For this great dislike of John meant that Lord Phillip refused to allow the marriage.

"I have received many an offer for my daughter's hand. Each and any of these men would make a more suitable husband." John seriously doubted that this was true. He loved Clarice with all of his heart but knew full well that she had minimal other suitors. No one was interested in joining their land with the ruin of Tonbridge and knew full well of her Father's lack of dowry. Yes, she was beautiful but her know it all attitude repelled many men. But still, Lord Phillip continued on but large great offers he was receiving. "So I suppose that would be the amount I require for my daughter," he said, stating a number that made John wish to drop onto the floor. "But you, I don't like you. So you can double it."

Now I know what you're thinking. Yes, there was some money hungry Lords, but John was a Prince of England. Surely it was be easy to gain such funds. But once again, the main trouble in John's life was his Father who refused to give him the money. In his eyes, John was just entering another phase that he would tire of and leave once he saw how little it affected his Father. His frivolous hand could not be swayed. Richard stood behind his Father's throne, that same frustrated look on his face as John continued to beg.

John's next stop was Will's estate. But this was the defining moment where his beloved brother let him down. "You've got to help me," John pleaded. "Father is being completely unreasonable. I love this woman! And I want to marry her."

"Wait, this is Clarice right?" his brother asked, clearly confused. "The same Clarice you have written to me about, saying how much you hate her?"

"Past tense," John said quickly. "That's just how we act around each other."

"You act as though you hate each other?" Will said slowly.

"I know how the whole thing looks. But please Will! You trust me don't you? You know that I'm messing around this time?"

Nothing had ever hurt John as much as his brother's face of pity. "John. You know I love you. But I just can't! I have a family. Helena wishes to have another child. And I have an estate to run. I can't just throw around money when you are probably…"

He never finished that sentence but it was obvious what he wanted to say. John stormed away without saying one thing more.

Something very strange occurred the next day. Prince John, future ruler of England, found a job, cheap labour in the fields. Having gained an extension on the fee, John worked all day every day, earning practically nothing in the hopes of marrying his one true love. Determination was the one thing both father and son had in common.

So he worked. Endlessly. Weeks turned into months and these months dragged on.

And suddenly, there was the day. The day when John could walk the proudest he had ever walked before. For it was then that he strode up to Lord Phillip, and handed over the bag filled to the brim with coins. "Our deal still stands," he said, trying desperately to make it sound like a statement and not a question.

Sir Phillip dipped his hand casually in the bag and allowed a few of the coins to pass through his fingers. "Yes," he said with a dark smile. "Yes it does." John maintained his calm exterior despite his surprise. He had expected much more of a fight.

And so wedding plans were underway. Obviously, the marriage was going. But still, King Henry and Prince Richard refused to believe it. Will on the other hand, took pity on his brother and took some time to get to know his future sister in law. But something made him pause before knocking at her door. Hearing voices, he shrunk back, thinking to come back later. But then he heard what the voices were saying and stayed where he was.

The first voice was female so he assumed it to be Clarice. She was saying, "You're wrong Father. He is a good man."

Will knew Sir Phillip and recognised his voice when he spoke. "Oh for goodness sake. The boy is a fool. And a damned nuisance." Will was about to charge in and defend his brother but the next words stopped him. "Anyway, we've got the money now so who cares? You can marry him for all I care. It's not like you're going to do any better. Even now, we are still nothing. Even now! That just goes to show how bad we were when I started. But keep in mind, I built us up, from nothing! So you best not do anything to compromise that!"

"What on earth could I possibly do?"

"Anything! Anything that would give away who we really are! Just do what I say and we can get through."

Footsteps brought Will to his senses as he leapt back from the door and fled down the hallway. Hiding around the corner, he saw Sir Phillip close the door behind him. Something was definitely not right about him and Will was completely alert. Now Will was no fool. He knew better than to just run up to John and tell him that something was not right with his fiancé.

A candle was lit and Will seated himself down with as many official documents he could find that involved Lord Phillip. That candle was burned to a stub by the time things began to made sense. And what he found utterly shocked him.

John only remembered flashes of those next few days. Guards bursting in and dragging Sir Phillip away. How he had tried to fight off those that attempted to take Clarice. Being told that the real Sir Phillip and his daughter had died in the fire at Tonbridge along with practically all of the servants and other citizens. Those remaining were either paid for silence or killed of for refusal. What were they refusing you ask? They refused to pretend that this newcomer was the real Lord of Tonbridge. Joseph Cartwright was lowly servant who had always been jealous of the power of others. For years he had been clawing his way to the top by any means possible. All of these horrid acts were listed at his hanging. Clarice DeGray was no more. Now, there was only Lucy Cartwright, a woman hated. Throughout her entire childhood, she had been lying to all of England. Including her fiancé'.

The final flash in John's memory was of running. Of himself running. Running as far from Nottingham as he could.

And that was the moment. The moment Prince John was truly created. He had seen first hand the effect of poverty. How important wealth was. And he never wanted to feel it again. He needed power. He needed wealth. And he needed to never love again.

But the ruthless ruler still had a little room for growth. He was not yet the successful ruthless ruler. But the darkness was definitely there.

And so two years passed as John went back to his frivolous life of nothing but pleasure. After such an event, he had no wish to be seen ever again. And no one did see him. For that year at least.

But things can only last so long. Finally someone suspected that they recognised him. This person mentioned this to another and this other person passed it on. Finally the news reached Will and a letter found its way to John.

He kept that letter. I read it myself.

.

_John,_

_My dear brother. Words cannot express how sorry I am of what happened to you. Everyone always talks about the scandal of it all but feel as though not enough people thing of the effect upon you. I fear for what you must be doing. Please know, none of what happened was your fault. There was no possible way you could have known._

_We attempted to hand the false Lord a few days after your departing. But he tricked us. The man under the hood was not Joseph Cartwright. Do not despair, he will be caught._

_Clarice is another story I suppose, though she goes by Lucy now. She was supposed to hang with her liar of a Father. But something stopped us. Please sit brother for I have some rather disturbing news for you. She was with child. Your child. Our Father may be a monster, but even he could not have his own flesh and blood killed, even before she was born._

_Your daughter was born over a year ago. I suppose that soon she will celebrate her second birthday. My how time flies. We named her Marian. _

_Please, please return to us. Meet your daughter. _

_Your brother,_

_Will._

.

Surprising everyone, John did return to Nottingham. For something inside him ignited a spark. Suddenly, there was that feeling inside of him once more. The spark that made him want to change.

And there it was. The ultimate defining moment. Seeing his beautiful young daughter.

I have no idea what he expected to happen nor do I know what was going through his head for he didn't tell us. All he told us was that, "when I saw you, it was obvious that you didn't need me. Will was your Father. In a desperate attempt to cover up our families shame, Will and Helena had pretended that you were their own third child. Anyway, I saw that you loved him. And they loved you. Everyone did. You were clearly the joy of the castle. And all I could see were those bouncy golden curls that looked so much like your Mother. And I couldn't believe myself, for a small part of me had no wish to see you. For seeing you meant seeing her."

"But then you looked at me. And you just smiled. That was all you had to do."

"And all of a sudden Will was there. And you looked away. To your Father. To the man you loved. There is only so much room in the heart of a young girl. You didn't want me nor did you need me."

"Will made it clear where I stood. "I did believe in you but you messed up, again. How long until you do it again? And this time there is a child involved. She doesn't deserve to have her life messed up as well." This was brother. The man I had looked up to and trusted to always believe me. But even he didn't trust me. And I suspect that he feared I would take you away from him."

So I returned to my old life, but much more excessive. I spent on a whim and not just on possessions. But I felt nothing for these women. I felt nothing for anyone. And here we are."

And with that, the story seemed to be over.

"And my Mother?" Marian asked calmly.

"I don't know and I don't care," John said, just as calmly. "From what I understand she escaped." Marian just nodded.

"So that's it?" John asked. "Are we done? Can we go back that wonderful existence where we pretend the other doesn't exist?"

Marian nodded again, turned and left. I didn't understand at all. "Marian!" I called, rushing after her. "He has an excuse! Shouldn't you be embracing or something."

"No one has an excuse for abandoning their child. Of course I needed him. But it doesn't matter anyway. He is the enemy."

I attempted to sputter out words but Marian calmly placed a hand on my arm. "Allen, just leave it alright? Everything is fine. We don't hate each other. Nor do we love each other. I respect him and I suspect that he respects me to. We don't need each other." All I could do was nod. Back to business, she quickly said, "we should probably get back to camp. I suspect that poor Michael has probably hidden the baby by now."

She couldn't have been more wrong. For we were met with a very odd sight upon our return. Michael was rocking his son. His very quiet son might I add. And he was singing. Singing his son to sleep. This wasn't helped by Thomas and Oliver who were both in some heated discussion over a game they were playing while Martha was watching form the side and cheering them on. And thank the Lord, Adelaide was standing to the side. With this, came promise that the baby would soon be out of hair. The gang looked just as thrilled as I did.

It wasn't smooth sailing though. Shortly after I returned, Much accidentally knocked over a pile of bowls and set off that damned baby. Thomas could no longer hear Oliver, no matter how loudly they yelled so Thomas took it as an excuse to have some alone time.

But at least they tried.


	56. A Final Night of Celebration

Beware, the following may shock you. Such events were completely unheard of in Sherwood Forest. But I must report, that something good actually happened! Shocking I know! But I do tire of constantly recounted all of the tragedy that recently seemed to be everywhere. Finally, we had a little bit of happiness.

Or at least we thought we did.

It all began with a rather odd sight. The sun had set on the forest, welcoming in the darkness. It seemed the night was underway. Our tasks were all complete and we had reached that wonderful stage where everyone could bugger off and do what they wanted. This brings me back to what was wrong. As I wandered around camp, I was tripped as I stumbled across something that shouldn't have been there. And that was both Thomas and Mark, astonishingly choosing to remain at camp instead of headed out to the precious tavern. It was quite an inconvenience actually. Never before had camp been so full at one moment. So there was not enough sitting placement. Hence, both men slumped at the feet of a small group of trees, taking up a large portion of the forest floor as they drunk from their flasks. "What on earth," I said softly, my words trailing away in confusion.

Mark contorted his face in a very flattering grimace. "Don't ask me! I know why we are still here just as much as you."

"Tavern is too far," Thomas grunted.

He was lying. Obviously. Nothing in the past had ever stopped him from that rather short trek to Locksley. Literally nothing. He even made it there after an occasion in which he had come a little too close to a guard's sword. He was still steadily bleeding as he ordered his pint. And yet there he was. I knew Mark was up to something as he had the exact same inquisitive mind that I did. Nothing could keep him from his precious tavern. He wanted information, and so did I. So I left them be.

Say what you like about Mark, but at times he was a clever man. Well, some say clever, some say resourceful. Most say that there is a slight hint of common sense beneath the rough surface that came to light on occasion. Well deep down, he was clever, but that would be shown a little later. On that night, I suspect that he simply showed common sense for once. And this common sense told him, the more Thomas drinks, the more likely he is to talk. So therefore many a drink was shoved at his friend. "You know, I reckon Martha will get the fright of 'er life we aint there tonight," Mark said, happily bring the conversation back. "And especially as weren't last night as well. Reckon 'er poor 'eart won't be able to take it."

Thomas had clearly drunken far more than his share. Obviously, he had no idea what was going on. "No we are staying here!" I said, words completely slurred and barley audible. "I don't want to do anything stupid!"

A scoff from Mark was happily given. "Asking the impossible mate."

"And all that's all well and good. Normally. Especially when it's only you! It's not like you matter or anything. But Martha. See, I don't want to say anything stupid in front of her. She won't want to marry me then."

The mug in Mark's hand dropped in shock and crashed to the ground, liquid spilling across the grass. "I'm sorry I must have misheard. Please repeat?" Mark said, suddenly overly sweet as he probed the other to continue.

But Thomas had finally seen the light. "You can't tell her!" he yelled. His voice boomed around camp and he froze as he waited for a reaction. None of us gave one. We had heard far stranger things when they got to this stage. "You can't tell her, please," he said again, this time in hushed tones.

"I can't tell 'er she's marrying you? I would like to think that she knows."

"Well she doesn't. I mean, I haven't actually asked her yet. And every time I see her, I lose my nerve. And obviously, when I drink, I say things and she would have found out and it would be bad so you can't tell!"

"Alright alright," Mark said, hands up in mock surrender. "So when we you actually planning on asking 'er?"

"Tomorrow night," Thomas tried to say but he suddenly felt rather queasy. "Be right back," he said in a rush as he ran off to be sick on the other side of camp.

Mark sat alone, with a smile on his face. For his two good friends were going to be married. Everything seemed right.

And then that moment ended as Bryce strolled past. Mark leapt up, grabbed him by the colour and told him excitedly, "Thomas is going to ask Martha to marry him tomorrow! Oh but, uh, don't tell him I told you right?"

Bryce couldn't keep the grin from his face but quickly darted off when he saw Thomas returning. And that grin remained, much to Bryce's dismay. For when he knew a secret, it was fairly obvious. Much recognised that look all too well and instantly became suspicious. "You know something," he said slowly.

Biting his tongue, Bryce remained silent. All the while, Much never broke eye contact. "Thomas is going to ask Martha to marry him!"

Much gasped in excitement and that same look of knowing a secret passed over his own face. This one of the few things the brothers had in common. "But don't tell anyone, you hear?" Much nodded and practically skipped away. He adored a good wedding and couldn't wait for something so exciting to occur.

But that same look had never been easy to hide. Will recognised the signs just as easily. "He grabbed the scruff of Much's collar in a rather intimidating fashion that wiped the smile right of Much's face in panic. "You know something," Will said simply.

"No I don't," Much said quickly. Too quickly.

"Tell me now," Will said.

"Can't make me!" Will raised a fist. "Thomas and Martha are going to be married. Once he asks her that is."

Will sighed, bored. He thought is would be something slightly more exciting. "She'll probably say no." Much opened his mouth to warn Will about silence but was interrupted as Roger walked past.

"Why are we hurting Much tonight?" he asked, a dark smile on his face. This dark smile was completely false though. Everyone knew now that he was extremely protective of Much and considered him to be a friend. But still, he enjoyed carrying of the façade of being dominant.

Once again, Much desperately attempted to silence Will but it was too late as Will said, "Thomas is proposing." No longer did Much bother to open his mouth. He simply glared at Will. Poor Will didn't understand. "What?" Oh was I not supposed to tell? Oh. Roger don't tell anyone!"

"I really couldn't care less," Roger replied as he wandered off, following the grumblings of his stomach. His current craving was apple so made his way to the barrel. To his dismay, he found it empty. The nearest apple tree was too far for the man to bother at that time of night. Looking around camp, he saw the very last apple in Greg's hand. Storming over, he demanded it, saying, "What can I do to have that apple?" Greg studied him, breathing on the apple and polishing it on his shirt. Roger sighed, "Thomas is proposing." The apple dropped in shock and Roger happily bent down, retrieved it and wandered off.

Greg barley noticed. Finally, his wits returned and he realised that he had previously been in conversation with Michael before excusing himself to fetch an apple. Running back, he said, "So once upon a time, there a man with shaggy black hair that could do with a could trim and wash. He could also do with a good bathe now and then but he was always to busy at his precious tavern. Now he was in love with a beautiful red haired woman and one day he decided to ask her to marry him. I'm still working on the ending. What do you think so far?"

Michael's face slowly gained more and more excitement. "You're joking!" And with that, he ran off, shouting, "I have to tell Marian!"

"Tell Marian what?" Little John asked as he walked past.

"Thomas is proposing!" Michael called back. He wondered afterward if it was supposed to be secret but shook off the concern and ran on.

John sighed, knowing full well what he had to do when he knew a secret. Hurrying back to his cabin, he reported back to his master. "Amelia," he said with a sigh. "I know something."

"Tell me now," she said, not looking up from her embroidery. Her tone however, meant business.

"Thomas is going to Martha to marry him." With these words, the embroidery went flying up in the air as Amelia buzzed about, mumbling about all of the things that needed to be done and the plans to be made and how she didn't have enough time. John sighed and wandered off, shaking his head in empathy for how stressed Thomas would be.

Amelia barely noticed as she continued to plan. Robin wandered past next and thought she was having a fit. Then he saw what she was doing. "A wedding?" he said in confusion.

"Thomas and Amelia's!" Amelia said in complete happiness.

"No!" Robin said in surprise. Then he too was grinning. "Well I love a good wedding. Especially one I don't feel the need to ruin."

"Don't you dare!" Amelia roared, not understanding the joke. Robin darted away, actually a little scared.

He almost crashed into Lilly. "So what is she stressing about now?" she asked.

"Thomas and Martha getting married," Robin replied.

She gasped in shock and excitement. "What?" she squealed, suddenly high pitched.

"But I think it's supposed to be a secret so don't tell anyone," Robin said with no real conviction.

"Oh but it's alright for you to tell?" Lilly said, hands on hip in defiance.

"Well it's about time someone else's personal life was discussed inappropriately don't you think? I'm just returning the favour."

He then had to excuse himself due to some planning with me so she wandered back to her cabin. Keighley was already there, being the perfect roommate she always was. "You brought mud in," she was moaning. "Is it so hard to wipe your feet? And another thing…"

"For goodness sake!" Lilly interrupted. "There are bigger things going on in the world! There are people with things to do other than you!" Do you ever take a moment to wonder if anyone else even exists in your mind?"

"I would do if any of you did anything interesting once in a while."

"Oh like Thomas planning to ask Martha to marry him?"

Finally Keighley was silent. "Thomas is going to ask Martha to marry him?"

"What!" Ben said in surprise as he walked by and overheard the conversation. "No way!" The next thought for Ben was to go and congratulate Thomas but the look Mark gave him drove him straight back.

And that was it. In the space of mere moments, everyone knew. Oh did I say everyone. Well I suppose that would be wrong. Because no one bothered to tell me. The most important one!

You can imagine my confusion the next night when people started disappearing. Nothing was strange about Thomas and Mark of course as they barked their farewells and ran off. I suppose, thinking back, that there was something slightly different about them but nothing I noticed at the time. Bryce and Greg had already gone out, having a family function to attend. What alerted to me to something happening was Will, Roger and Ben walking off together. I suppose that Ben, on occasion was known to leave but the other two would rather be buried alive. "You do know that you are heading for the exit right?" I asked.

Will grimaced. "I lost a bet with Ben. I have to go to the tavern and make conversation with every person I see."

This was of course, the best possible punishment for Will and the look of triumph on Ben's face reflected this. "And I'm just going to laugh at him," Roger said.

"Wait!" Lilly called as she ran up to them. "I'm coming too."

"Great! One more person to witness this," Will moaned. "Why did you have to invite her Roger?"

"Why not? Everyone is entitled to witness such an event." They all smiled as the thought about what was to come. I of course, just assumed they meant Will's embarrassment and let them go.

Greg and Keighley were next to go. "Honestly, sometimes I need to get away from this camp," Keighley was saying to him.

"And here I was thinking that you just wanted to spend time with me," he said with a smile and lead her out.

I didn't bother to ask John and Amelia where they were going as they strolled past, holding hands and staring into each other's eyes. Obviously some were in store for a romantic evening.

This only left Robin and Michael and they were already gathering their possessions. "Is the forest on fire or something?" I said, trying to mask my confusion.

"I'm having a night out with Marian before she leaves," Michael said innocently. "I'm not sure what we're doing exactly. As long as we end up at the tavern."

'The tavern?" I asked slowly.

"So they can conveniently run into me," Robin said quickly. "And then I suppose she will have to see me."

They tried to bid me Farwell but I wasn't having any of that. "No way I'm staying here by myself,' I said and followed.

Poor Thomas. After finishing his drink, he prepared mentally to ask the most terrifying question a man can ask. Turning slightly, he saw them. And of course, 'them' means everyone.

Will was clearly regretting agreeing to a part of their cover story as he was forced to make genuine conversation with folk he had never met and already couldn't stand. Ben, Roger and Lilly sat at a table, laughing all the while. Bryce slammed through he door, Much tailing behind. Clearly, their family gathering had not gone as planned. Keighley and Greg sat at a table toward the back, although still quite close to John and Amelia. Michael sat with Marian who was doing her best to ignore Robin who of course Michael had invited to join them. I sat with them as well, happy that finally someone seemed as confused as I was. "What are you all doing here?" he said loudly. All non Merry Men patrons of the tavern shook their heads, assuming that he had simply drunk a little more than he should have.

Us being there, no matter how innocently intended, was obviously the last thing Thomas needed and he lost it. "Alright. Okay. This is good. This is fine. I can do this. I can do this." He paused with a deep gasp. "I can't do this! Am I mad? Must be. What on earth would she want with me? She is so, you know! And I'm all, well, er, you know! I'm doomed! Doomed!"

Lilly, who was closest to him, got up, walked up to him and slapped him hard across the face. "Calm down! Seriously!"

Robin quickly joined them. "Lilly has a point Thomas," he said, "Although, the presentation of the point was a little flawed."

"A little?" Thomas whined, nursing his cheek.

"Alright, that's it!" I said, also losing my temper. "What is going on?"

"I'm going to propose!" Thomas yelled. Once again, he forgot his volume and everyone was instantly alert, checking to see if Martha was nearby. Luckily, she had darted out on an errand, leaving Oliver in charge. Not exactly responsible, leaving a ten year old boy in charge of a tavern, but that was just the sort of Mother Martha was. Once the coast was clear, everyone outlaw or no was all a buzz as they excitedly discussed the upcoming events.

"Thanks, for telling me," I muttered. Normally, I am the first to know everything! And for this, I was punished. Made a joke of!

"Well, at least I was going to propose," Thomas said, still panicking. "But I can't! You're all here. And I don't know what to say! And she will say no! And…"

"Just take a deep breath," Robin instructed. Thomas was in such a state of panic that he obliged straight away. Clearly, he needed someone to tell him exactly what to do. Robin was all too happy to oblige. "Trust me," Robin said calmly. "I have been exactly where you are." Marian looked suddenly uncomfortable but everyone ignored this. John stood up and walked beside Robin. "So have I," he said "and we understand. It's terrifying. But you can't try and wait for some perfect moment! Because you are always going to be terrified. You just need to do it."

"Just say what you feel," Robin added. "Tell her why you love her. It will be fine."

Silence was gained as the door bust open and Martha finally made an appearance. She knew that something was obviously wrong as there was silence around the tavern. This never happened. Ever. Her eyes narrowed as she thought for the worst. Everyone understood the urgency of the situation and snapped back to their normal activities. "Look," she said, "if you are using my tavern as a place for some mission, I do insist that you ask me first," she said in that big booming voice. "That's all! I may even say yes! But I don't want to upset any customers. They calm here for a little peace!"

Robin raised an eyebrow at the idea of peace as he surveyed the madness around us. "No mission, I swear," he said. "Just looking for a night off."

She purveyed him, and the rest of us. Finally, we were accepted. "Well go on then, spend some money!" We were all then forced to the bar to oblige. Oliver happily darted behind the bar to tae any coins given to him and grabbed a tray of mugs.

Happy that her tavern was back as she wanted, Martha turned to Thomas. "You alright?" she asked, suddenly worried. "You look poorly."

"Fine," he tried to say but his word came out in a long croak.

"Oliver!' she called, "Don't serve Thomas anything else. He has clearly had enough."

Robin bumped past Thomas, pausing as he pretended to recover from the slight collision. Winking, he gave him a reassuring smile and walked on.

Thomas turned in his seat so I could no longer see his face. I know had no clue what he was thinking. But something seemed to slowly change about him. Suddenly, the slump in his shoulders was gone. Suddenly this head was raised. Suddenly, he was barely recognizable as be spoke. "Can I have everyone's attention please?"

Everyone happily looked up. Martha groaned. "Thomas seriously, how much have you had?"

"Not a drop," he said pleasantly, showing her his mug. "It's water."

This surprised her. "What on earth?" she said, her voice trailing away.

"I just think that it's about time everyone in here knew a little more about you. That's all. So everyone listen up. I first met this beautiful woman many years ago. More than she would probably care for me to say. We were just young children. Our Father's knew each other you see. Hers owned this tavern and mine was his best customer. As you can see, apple's don't fall far from the tree. And I just wanted to know what the inside of this place looked like. So I snuck in. And I fell in love. With this place. And then I met Martha." She was clearly not amused but everyone else was. So he continued. "You were sitting on the stairs, watching everyone just like me. And you saw me, knowing full well that I shouldn't have been there. But you didn't say anything. Why was that exactly?"

"I saw a future potential regular," she said.

"Or you liked me! And I liked you. Then the next time we met, we were both fifteen and I had worked my hardest to grow beard so I could look older try and get into this place. You were working behind the bar. And you knew full well how old I was. But you served me anyway. Why was that?"

"I wanted your money. And you were a fool. I charged you triple what I should have."

"Or you liked me! And now here we are, fifteen years later. And I am a horrible person. I'm not handsome. I'm not bright. I'm not funny. What I am is selfish, foolish and I have been told that I smell. But yet you still put up with me. Why is that exactly?"

"Because you're the best regular I have," she said and everyone called out their disapproval. "And I love you," she added with a smile, causing everyone to cheer instead.

"And In love you," he said, leaping down from the chair he had been standing on and bounding over to her. Then he went down on one knee. "Martha, you have made all of my dreams come true. For the first time in my life, I feel completely safe and happy, even though I am making a complete ass of myself. Because I know that you will always be with me. And nothing would make me happier. And as I make, what many will claim to be my horrifying moment, I feel strong because you bring out the best in me. I need you and I know that you need me too. And I don't want to spend another day without you. So Martha Wrenne, will you do me the honour of marrying me? Keeping in mind that if you say no, there is a complete gang of outlaws around who aren't afraid of taking out their anger in many different ways."

He needn't have worried about his words. She had made her decision long before he was even half way through. "Of course I will you idiot!" she said as she practically leapt at him.

Never before how the tavern seen such comradely as everyone rejoiced. The uproar was almost deafening but no one cared in the slightest. Everyone was embracing anyone close to them and cheering as loudly as their voices would allow. "Free drinks for all!" Mark yelled.

"Free drinks as long as Mark pays," Martha called back. Mark was silent.

Finally, things started to die down slightly and I took the opportunity to go congratulate Thomas myself. "Beautiful words," I said, pretending to compliment him

"Cheers mate," he said with a large sniff. He then proceeded to wipe his nose on his sleeve. Meanwhile I scrunched my nose in disgust. _This _was the wondrous poet who said such words?

"So Robin wrote that speech didn't he?" I asked. Marian, who stood close by, nodded in agreement, recognizing many a phrase.

"Yes he did," Thomas said bluntly. But Martha wouldn't care. Not that we told her obviously.

And so began one of those few nights where everyone simply rejoiced. All bloody night. The only downside, was the feeling of awaking the next morning…

.

If only there was a wedding. If only life could have remained like that. Thinking back on those days, I cannot believe how simple things were.

For in a few weeks more, the Merry Men would be no more.

Everything was about to change.


	57. Whispers on a Quiet Night

It looked to be shaping up like another quiet evening for the small village of Tyne. Nothing was surprising about this. Practically every moment in this village was one of an eerie calm. The sort of calm that comes with the end of a shocking storm. For Tyne had struggled under the rule of Prince John. Their area meant for two things. First, they struggled with climate and land to result their farming needs to pay their taxes. And secondly, they were too greater distance from Nottingham for us to help. So most villages had migrated. Packed up and left in the hopes that another town would have work. The few that remained lived with the daily silence and had learnt to accept it.

But they were in store for a something a little different that night. Whispers were passed around with the joyous news. It was safe to say that everyone was besides themselves. For Robin Hood had returned to them one more. We did try to get to as many villages and townships as we could but everyone has their limits. And Tyne was situated far north and has far too few people to be a regular stop. In all honesty, we had barley ever been there. So it was an extremely exciting night when the local butcher, Paul received a knock on his door, late at night. He wasn't used to visitors, especially at such a time so he rushed down to open the door. Squinting in the sudden light, he managed to make out that pointy green hat and feather atop that brown hair. "Robin Hood," I said, trying to mask the exhaustion in his voice. "Come in, please," he said, beckoning inward.

The only trouble was that the man at the door was not Robin. Nor was he a Merry Man. Yet almost every feature mirrored that of our own leader. The man smiled warmly as he passed the threshold and held out a large money pouch. "A token," he said, "Anything to help in these difficult times."

The man's eyes widened at the jingle of the many coins inside. "Thank you," he said in delight," thank you so much! Please sit, I'll find you a drink or something." So he bustled about the kitchen finally scrounging some dry bread and a little water. "Sorry," he said apologetically, "times are hard, you know. Prince John's taxes are rising. Money is scarce. I hope one day soon, you get to teach that bastard a lesson."

"Watch you tongue," the other man said sharply. Poor Paul stopped in surprise. "I'm sorry. But you are mistaken. For Prince Join is the best ruler we could have ever asked for."

"What?" Paul asked in shock. "But you… But he…"

"Yes, that is a common misunderstanding. Prince John does raise taxes yes, but only under his brother's instruction. All your tax money is then sent to the Holy Land so King Richard can continue his selfish frivolous life style. That, or he purchases more disgusting horrible weapons to kill innocent Turks."

"Turks?" Innocent?" The man was clearly unbelieving. "I thought that Turks were the enemy."

"Not even the worst of enemies deserves what Richard does to them. For Richard cares nothing of the Crusades. He only seeks blood. And going to the Holy Land allows him this blood while still maintaining his riches from running this country into the dirt. "

Finally, Paul began to suspect that something was afoot. "Right," he said slowly. "Well, thank you so much for the silver. You have no idea how much you have helped me. But it is getting late and I wouldn't want to keep you."

A sudden knock at the door startled Paul. Never before had he had so many visitors at night. "Answer it," the other man said, clearly calm.

Paul was not as lucky as he worried about who would be waiting for him. Opening the door slowly, he happily relaxed. "Luke! Oh thank the Lord. I thought you would be guards or something here to arrest Robin. But I doubt you're going to arrest your own leader right?"

Now Robin may not have been Robin. But it is with horrible regret that I report that the man at the door was in fact, our very own Luke. His non-outlaw life had changed him slightly. Yet on that night, he looked almost like his old self, dressed once more in his outlaw garb. "Robin's here?" he said in surprise, laying eyes upon the stranger seated at the table. Then he turned on us yet again. "I thought I was supposed to cover this section Robin." Paul meanwhile, relaxed all the more. When I said that we only rarely visited I Tyne, I neglected to say that normally Luke was responsible for such areas. Therefore, he was very widely recognised. What was not widely known however was his traitorous ways.

"You were taking too long. And King Richard hasn't allowed a moment of peace to allow for such a speed."

Luke grimaced. "Don't' talk to me about that King Richard. Please don't say you have fallen for his act Paul. I am so tired to Saxons singing his praises while really he has practically signed their death warrants."

"No never!" Paul said, shaking his head in complete agreement. "I only wish there was something I could do to help. Maybe I could spread the word or something? Too many people around this village believe him to be our savior. Other than you lot of course."

The other two nodded approvingly. Luke let the other man take charge. "Please do. And while you are, please stay alert for any men possible who are brave enough to join the battle in the Crusade on our side."

"Your side."

"Well I suppose that you have a right to know. But please, be careful who you tell this to. This is top secret, understand? Well, over this past year, the Merry Men and I have been arranging for a different sort of warrior to travel to the Holy Land. These men aren't there to battle for the pointless Crusades for they have nothing to do with us! Innocent people are dying and for what? Anyway, these men join the rank of King Richard and under our instruction, do what they can to ensure that this traitor is brought to justice."

"You are turning on King Richard?" Paul said in shock, dropping the mug he had been holding.

"Only because he turned on his own people. But I do understand the risks yes. But someone must stop him. And sadly, few are brave enough to do anything."

"I could do it," Paul said quietly. Both of the other men smiled in a strange knowing way. "You would?" Luke said.

"Yes! And I will spread the word. I know many able bodied men around these parts who are angry at the state of England. They will do anything to help!"

That strange smiled remained as a piece of parchment was passed to the man. "I knew I could trust you. Please bring anyone trustworthy to this location on this date. You will be told more there. And thank you. You have no idea how much you are helping countless others."

Nothing more ever so slightly alerted the foolish Paul to possible trouble. Nothing of how easily this so called Robin was convinced to tell such secrets. Nor the fact that he already had the location written and ready on parchment. Such a fact would surely alert the most foolish of men that this man had come with the sole intention of converting him.

A few more words were said and finally the two excused themselves. As soon as they were out of earshot, the false accent was dropped and the man sounded nothing like Robin. "Good show old friend. That idiot will bring at least twenty men I think. Terrowyn will be thrilled!"

"Let's just get back Adam," Luke said, very unenthusiastically. He tried to avoid looking at Adam for it the resemblance still startled him every time. For a split second, he would always think Robin had caught him and the terror began again. He thought these reactions would be long since gone. After all, this partnership had been occurring for months. But that resemblance never failed to fool even him. This could explain how every village they visited were also so easily fooled.

"What's eating you?" Adam asked. "Shouldn't you be thrilled? We converted two more villages tonight. Imagine what you are going to be paid!" Luke remained silent and Adam began to understand. "Oh don't tell me your having second thoughts. Are you mad! Look at the amazing deal we have! Nice easy money. And we aren't hurting anyone!"

"Until King Richard is killed!"

"And so what? What difference will it make? He isn't exactly here ruling is he? Prince John already acts like he owns the show. And he isn't doing much in the Holy Land. Might as well die."

Luke was still silent for a time. "And what if all this turns badly for the real Merry Men?"

"Brilliant. Shouldn't you be thrilled? The men who turned their backs on you could possibly get killed. Anyway, we best get back. If we're late, Terrowyn won't be happy. And we can easily be replaced."

"I can't! Too many small villages know of me. You however. He must have at least ten more men who look exactly like Robin waiting in line.. And I'm sure they're getting bored of doing the useless small villages. I keep telling them that every little bit helps but they still want the top job. Your job."

"Exactly my point. So let's go."


	58. The Sight of Nottingham

Obviously we had no idea of these goings on. We went happily about our business, in particular a forest path raid. Everything began normally. Before midday, seven carriages had been stopped and sent off with their purse strings loosened. And then suddenly, all was quiet. This was strange.

"I'll say it," Bryce finally said, voicing what everyone was wondering, "where are all the people?"

"This should be a trading day," Will said from his position in a lower branch of a tree. "The roads should be full of tradesmen going to other villages."

"Yes well we can't ruddy well go round robbing them can we?" John said, sounding rather angry. It wasn't his fault. His temper was normally controlled. But he was bored. And he was the kind of man who refused to sit still. So he paced back and forth across the road, despite our orders not to. Whenever we mentioned the possibility of upcoming carriages seeing him and fleeing, he would respond by reminding us of the silence.

"We can't rob them John but they should still be here," Robin explained. "Something's wrong. What could possibly stop them all?"

Mark yawned and repositioned himself on the forest floor. "They're probably all asleep. You know, morning aint exactly the best time to do things."

"It's midday," Roger said, clearly unimpressed.

We all stopped at the sound of Much's horn. Two short blows sounded and we all happily darted back to our positions. What stopped us completely was the third blow. And the fourth. And how he still continued.

"I don't remember deciding on that being a signal," Mark said nervously.

No one had time to respond. We were all too instantly alert. Our ears were quickly met with the sound of fast paced hoofbeats.

Thankfully, Tuck had been slightly more alert than us. Now I had grown up seeing Tuck as the calm old tutor. This made it all the more surprising when he came hurtling toward us astride us galloping horse. Yanking on the reigns, he managed to slow the horse enough to yell at us, "Get to back to camp! Now! And stay there!"

Much and Ben had left their posts and raced in behind Tuck. I could also see the other group assigned to the second busiest road also running through the trees. "I don't have time to explain!" Tuck said. "I have to get back to calm the crowds. But the people of Nottingham, they want you dead! Everyone thinks you have betrayed the King and have been sending people to kill him."

"Why on earth…?" Robin tried to say but Tuck was already galloping off.

"Just stay away," he called back over his shoulder.

The sound of hoofprints had barley died away before Robin was already disobeying him and walked off, clearly to Nottingham.

"Robin! Get back here," I said, clutching at his arm. "What part of 'they want us dead' don't you understand?"

"All of it," he said. "And standing around here isn't going answer anything."

"Well we can't just parade in Nottingham," Michael said, looking very nervous. "Don't we need a plan or something?"

"Why don't we just do what Tuck said?" Keighley asked. "I personally don't have a death wish."

"Can't believe I'm saying this but Keighley's right," Bryce said. "What's the harm in laying low for a few days? Just until it dies down a little bit and then we sort it out?"

"I'll go crazy if I just sit around and not know what's going on," Much said, siding with Robin. "Can't we disguise ourselves or something?" The idea of simply sitting around struck a chord with John who nodded in agreement.

"Well I'm going," Robin announced. It was clear that nothing would change his mind. "You can come if you wish but anyone who wishes to return to camp can go."

Everyone came. No one wanted to appear a coward and everyone refused to be in the dark a moment longer.

With donned hoods, we entered Nottingham.

The sight made me sick to my stomach. Crowds clustered about three streets, flitting about, some in panic but more in fury. They wanted bloody. Our blood. Pulling my hood further down my face, I continued to stare at folk who just a few nights earlier had praised us, adored us even. Now such horrid things could be overheard as they considered us to be traitors. Thanks to the hoods, I could not make out the expressions of everyone else but I can well assume that they reflected my own. The number of wanted posters with our faces on them covered almost every wall, the prices doubled. It was obvious to see that many a villager would be happy to claim this reward. Hovering still, I looked upon my own face staring back at me. The features differed slightly. I had been made to appear angry. Many a scar I had never seen before now branded my face as I glared out from the parchment. Will too had stopped at the sight of his own poster. But his was no longer on the wall. He witnessed a small group of villagers, clutching it in hand and saying, "it's all in that scar. We can find him if we look for that scar on his face."

"We just gave them money," Will said to me. "Now look at them."

"People are sheep," I replied. "They will follow anything they believe to be true."

In response, Will simply tore down a handful of posters from the wall, mine included. He handed it to me saying, "you've never looked better. Hang it on your wall or something."

And we walked on. The next time we stopped was at the sight of Greg and Keighley's family. We had spent many a night with them as they always invited us back for a meal at any chance they had. Now they looked just as angry as everyone else. "So what do you reckon?" Greg asked, "Would they hand in their own children?" No one knew.

Keighley refused to simply sit around and wonder. "Mum! Dad!" she said, running up to them. She was greeted with a slap on the face from her Mother.

"So this is what you've been doing? Betraying your own King. You make out that you're all some great hero but really you just gain everyone's trust so you can use em to kill you own King. Get away! Your no daughter of mine."

Poor Keighley just stood their in shock. Greg stood beside her, arm around her. "You're right there. Because we no longer have a Mother or Father. What kind of parent instantly assumes their own children to be traitors? Come on Keighley."

I was on edge the entire time. For Keighley and Greg had just been rather loudly announced. Folk around could easily figure out who they were. Luckily, no one seemed to be listening.

Passing the tavern was also a shock. Apparently the Sheriff knew exactly how to catch an outlaw. And that was to know an outlaws surroundings. For it could be of no coincidence that the tavern was covered in posters of both Mark and Thomas. Outside it were many men that Mark and Thomas had previously called friends. They now had weapons at the ready. Martha stood with them, but she was one of the first we saw who looked just as shocked as us. Not a trace of anger passed through her face as she clutched Oliver to her.

John had to pull Thomas back as he attempted to race over to her. "I have to go explain!" he said desperately.

"I'm sure she knows," Robin told him. "But each and every man over there would instantly recognise you. You can't very well explain to her when you are being killed." Mark just remained in his stunned silence. He had never seen so many people he knew turn on him. Bryce had a hand on his shoulder, partially to comfort and partially so he couldn't run off and do that same thing Thomas longed to do. But he seemed to shocked to move and allowed himself to be guided off.

Finally we reached the town square. The gallows had been extended. Thirteen nooses with a clear intended message. There were men standing in front of them, preaching to the crowds. Motivating I suppose. I recognised two of them. One was Rowan, Martha's past love and Oliver's Father. Once again, Thomas had to be restrained. The other was Harold, the same man who had turned on us one year before in Locksley. The Sheriff was there as well, observing the chaos. Prince John himself was seating above the crowd on a balcony. Terrowyn was standing behind him, clearly triumphant.

Finally we were recognised. Robin had his sword ready as someone clutched at his shoulder. Turning, he saw Luke. "What the hell are you doing here? Did Tuck's words mean nothing to you?"

"Luke, tell us what's going on?" Robin said, trying to hide the pleading in his voice.

Luke wet his lips, clearly decided what to do as his eyes flitted about in panic. "It's Terrowyn," he finally said. "For months now he has sent folk who look exactly like you around to the smaller villages, gaining their trust and sending them off to the Holy Land as spies. But the people don't know that. They think it was you."

"And you wait till now to tell us?" Ben said in fury.

"Better than never telling you aint it?"

"Hold on," I said. "He must had have help. How else would he have known which villages we never visited and at what times and things like that?"

My words made it obvious to everyone. "Will your treachery never end?" Roger roared, slamming his fist into Luke's face.

"Not now!" Robin yelled.

"Be quiet!" Much whispered, yet somehow his whisper seemed to be more a shout.

It was too late. Our little scene had been observed by others who finally began to recognise us. The crowd was filled with a chorus of, "it's him!" and "get him." Hands were instantly clutching at us, holding us stock in place.

Luckily, Robin was faster than them. His bow was drawn as he pointed toward anyone in the crowd. "Everyone back!" he roared. This did well in having us released and we too had bows at the ready, covering many different directions to keep the crowd back. "Now move!" Robin yelled and thankfully a path was cleared. But it was obvious that we would be unable to get far.

A figure with waving arms stood out as we saw Tuck beckoning us over to the Church. We raced over before the crowd could stop us. "Plead sanctuary and get inside," he muttered to us. Then, facing the crowd, he called, "I'm afraid the outlaws have pleaded sanctuary and the Church always protects those who asks for it. Anyone who enters these doors with the purpose of harming them, will have the Lord to answer to. And your should shall suffer for it." And with a slam, he closed the doors after him.

The silence of the Church seemed piercing after all of the yelling. "Right," Tuck said, "That should hold off anyone who cares about religion. And for the others, we had best barricade the door."

"And the other entrances." Surprising us all, we turned to see a small group entering the main area from another room. They were lead by Martha who quickly ran over to Thomas to throw her arms around him. Oliver, Marian, Oliver, Amelia, Lilly, Adelaide and Old Pete followed behind. "I gathered everyone together as soon I found out what was going on," Martha explained.

Then there was nothing else he could say. "Please say you have a plan," Keighley said finally. Robin couldn't.

"How on earth did this happen?" Little John said. His voice scared me slightly. Gone was the booming confidence. Now, it was obvious that even he was scared.

Robin could not say a word. He was far too overwhelmed. Thankfully Tuck took charge. "It will be alright! We just have to convince practically everyone in England that you were being impersonated."

"And how on earth do you propose we do that?" Ben said, not trying to hide his frustration and anger. "If we go out there, we will be swarmed."

"We will succeed through the same way Terrowyn did. Through the power of the spoken word. We need only convince a few very important villagers of your innocence and they will spread the word. It will be easy when they see the real Robin Hood with a fake."

"Well we don't exactly have any of the fakes now do we?" Robin replied.

"Well then I suggest you go and catch one. And don't tell me you don't know where to look. Because you do. You know where Luke is. And yes, you may be furious at him right now. But don't let your fury mask your reason. For he may have been plotting against you, but he can tell you where to find the answer."

"So what do you propose? That we just wander outside and trust the people to be understanding?" Roger said, not attempting to mask the sarcasm.

"You won't, they will," Tuck said as he gestured to the small group.

"No," John said, stepping in front of Amelia. "They will be killed."

"No one is looking for them," Tuck explained. "And they are your only option."

No one seemed happy at the idea of their loved ones going out to find Luke. "Don't worry," Marian said cheerily, "I will keep everyone safe."

"Now we're all worried," Michael said, gaining a hit on his shoulder.

"It's not as if we will be out fighting some epic battle," Pete said. "If Luke started this, then I am going to make him fix it. He may be bloody useless but there is still some good in 'im"

"You really believe that?" Much asked.

"I have to,' Pete said with a strange wistful look on his face. "Anyway, he will see me. I can reason with 'im. Then we will find out where the fakes are and go from there."

"That's where I come in," Marian said, sword in hand. Robin frowned at that but still said nothing.

"The rest of us will scout the crowd," Adelaide said as the others nodded.

"We're smart enough to know that we can't exactly use a sword," Lilly said. "We will just plead to the masses. Remind everyone why they love you."

Even Oliver had his chest puffed out bravely. "If my Dad can tell everyone what villains you are, why can't we do the opposite?" Thomas ruffled his hair proudly and Martha smiled.

Everyone looked to Robin for confirmation. "Thank you," he said finally unable to voice much else. With this, every prepared themselves and quickly strode away to their assigned place. Meanwhile, the Merry Men, supposed heroes/villains of England, simply sat and did nothing.

"It's a sad day when we have to be protected by women, old men and children," John said wistfully.

Amelia hit him. It didn't hurt of course, nothing could. "And why shouldn't we?" she said. "It's not our fault that you're all too useless."

Marian paused as she and Pete walked out. She passed Robin and stopped. He was slumped at the foot of a large pillar, still silent. Bending down, she said simply, "It will be alright, you know. People can't stay mad at you for long?"

Both she and Robin ignored the tapping of Pete's foot as he wished to move on. "They can't?" he said, a slight hint of the old Robin returning.

"Some can. If they try hard enough."

"Oh for goodness sake. This is not the time!" Pete said, reaching the end of his tether. "Let's go!"

And then all we could do was wait.

Hours passed. Waiting continued.

That is, until we smelt the smoke.


	59. Remembering a Different Time

Pete did his best to mind his own business in the hopes that people would do the same for him. He never cared for the lives of others and did his best to pretend they did no exist. Yet even he could not mask the raised eyebrow at Marian as the pair strode toward the hidden doorway of the Church. In turn, Marian glared at the action. The whole incident clearly amused him as he said. "You foolish child. Just give in to him already. Everyone is losing interest."

In the space of one sentence he both demeaned her age and her life decisions. But such was the way of Pete. Marian however, was no typical victim of his and such words had no effect. She barley even looked upon him as she finished saddling one the horses left for them. "You best watch your mind old man," she responded, "for it seems to be running wild."

Such a reply unnerved him for not a shred of emotion was shown. So he pretended to follow in her example of preparing his horse. The trouble for him was that while she had what seemed to be a multitude of weapons to strap upon it, he had nothing to saddle so he merely fiddled with the buckles. He gave up eventually and heaved himself up on to his horse, every joint seeming to click in frustration. It had been far too long since his old body had sat astride a horse it seemed. "Just kindly keep your mind on the job at hand," he said finally.

She too, mounted her horse, eyes straight ahead. "It never strayed," she said, clicking her tongues and spurring her horse forward. Pete quickly followed, desperately trying to remember how to horse ride all the while.

They didn't get far. For the crowd stopped them in their tracks. Every path was still completely blocked. A group of nearby guards finally did something of use and began clearing a path but it was hard going. But it was more than the sheer mass that stopped Marian. It was the words. The looks on their faces. Everything about the villages that screamed of hate to such good people.

Leaning across, Pete whispered, "they'll be fine you know."

Such an action was completely out of character for such a man. The act of compassion. Marian gave a small smile at the fact. But the worry was still apparent. "How can you be sure?"

"Because Luke will tell us everything we need to know?"

"Luke is stubborn."

"Yes he is. But where do you think he learnt that from?"

And with that they were able to ride on.

.

.

.

To most, the task of finding Luke would have been impossible. Most would laugh at the idea to Pete confidently stating that he would instantly be able to find him instantly. But these folk clearly underestimated him. For there was a place that long ago, Luke had called home. It had been a simple family home but the love in it had not been. While there may have been a severe lack of love between Luke and his Father, this was covered by the love between a Mother and her two sons. But now, Mother and Brother were dead and gone. And his Father had long since moved on. All that remained was an empty house. And Luke. It was the only place that he felt he could go. For he hated Nottingham Castle. He hated the people. He hated the work. He hated himself for staying there.

And now, he had betrayed the group of people he had once called friends. And people called for blood. I like to believe that he held the deepest remorse. And in all honesty, he did. I can happily say that he was completely at war with himself. And well deserved too.

The door crashed open and Marian entered, sword in hand. But he barley gave her a second glance. He only looked to Pete. And that look contained fear. Before Marian could utter a sound, Pete had already begun. "Now you best prove to me that you are not the worthless decrepit that I fear you have become and tell us exactly where to find the ones who have been impersonating Robin."

"Oh they'll be fine," Luke said, pretending to swat the whole thing away. "They always do."

"No they are going to be killed! And you can stop it. If you were half the man Matthew was, you would have never helped."

Luke looked as though he had been slapped at the mention of Matthew. Marian had never wished to be in a room less. No one paid her any heed anyway. This was between them, two old friends, pulled apart by the others deception, finally with a chance for redemption.

The change in Luke was startling. He tried his best to stand tall and proud but it was almost as if he were a young boy again, fearing retribution from his fearsome friend. But he remained staunch in his stance, doing everything possible to mask this fear. "I know why you're here. And you're wasting your time. I don't know anything alright? And even if I did. I aint a fool. And I won't be telling you anything."

There was no movement from Pete. He simply stood, eyes narrowed, staring down the other man. For despite ever attempt to mask it, Pete saw instantly through the guise and saw that same young boy. An instant wave of sorrow passed through him as he all the hopes he had previously hoped. The future used to be so bright. There had been so much more to teach him but time had other plans. Everyone always said that Matthew was the better twin but Pete had never fallen for this. He had seen the good in Luke and if he looked hard enough, he could still see it now.

It has been said that nothing is stronger than words. Yet this impending silence from Pete seemed to have a wondrous effect on Luke. He was practically squirming in discomfort. "You know, that's not going to work anymore! I'm not afraid of you!"

Finally, Pete graced him words. "Well you best tell that to the fear in your eyes. But it's not fear of me is it? It's the fear that your actions will kill the Merry Men."

"Hang on, I didn't kill anyone."

"But it is by your actions that they are brought here today!" Pete suddenly yelled, startling everyone present. Marian very near fell backward at the shock of it all.

"Look," Luke said, practically pleading, "I don't know anything alright? And I'm sorry, but I really can't help. Robin's already kicked me out. The Sheriff is all I have. And I hate that! Do you hear me? I hate it! I live my life relying on the very man who once hunted me. But I have to. For England is lost. Can't you see it? Sure, we could save Robin and he could keep fighting. But there is no point. He can't save it. There will always be those who live in the dark. And those people have all the power. I mean, look at those folk Robin saves. With one simple rumour, they've turned on him. Again! So here we are, in this complete mess of a country. And we all have to do things to survive. So I'm leaving."

With these words, he strode toward the door. But he was not to reach it. Pete surprised everyone yet again with a sudden thrash of his arm as it smacked into the doorframe, blocking it. "You get back! You Goddamned coward! And to clear your feeble mind, I would never tell anyone of your help. Because in doing so I would have to admit to needing the help of someone like you."

"Someone like me?"

"No words can possibly describe! Now you can whine or beg or plead all you like. But you are going to tell us where those men are. Or I'll…"

Pete obviously had a plentitude of threats but Luke surprised him by yelling, "They're in the Sheriff's favourite tavern. Terrowyn bought out the entire thing. He needed some place where they could be unseen. And they have no skill whatsoever. They were just picked from appearance so you can control them easily. You can save the others."

And then with those desperate eyes, he looked straight at Pete and whispered, "Please don't let them die."

Normally the dynamic was completely different. One would never witness Luke backing down so early in a fight. But the guilt was there and it was heavy burden. It made everything harder. And he may have held onto plenty of anger toward us, but there was no real hate. He didn't want to see us hurt.

Pete too, was taken aback and was silent a moment in astonishment of his victory. "Thank you," he said finally, his voice appearing odd as it almost croaked out.

And then they just stared at one another. Remembering a different time.

Finally Marian loudly cleared her throat. Both look slightly alarmed at her presence. "That's right, I'm still here. Been here the whole time actually. And while this moment is obviously very touching and meaningful for you lot, we should probably get going."

And without another word, Pete turned and followed her. For there was nothing else to say.

Quickly, they rushed back into the main part of Nottingham.

But something was wrong. The crowd had gone wild. For they were about to witness an execution.

Robin's execution.


	60. With Only Despair

Every second in the church dragged on as we waited. The only sound was that of Little John rapping the fingers on his right hand in a steady motion against one of the pews. No one had the time or energy to fighting this annoying motion and simply sat about mulling over their woes.

Some turned to religion, or at least pretended to. It was fairly obvious to all that while Thomas appeared to look deep into a nearby bible, he only did so to hide his flask. Mark surprised us all by not joining him, rather sitting on the ground with many a flying piece of parchment as he flashed a quill about, desperately trying to think of plans. Sadly, he was the only productive member of the group. Roger had tried his best. "Come on we need to think," he said desperately. "Someone must have some idea. Any idea?"

"Give up," Bryce suggested.

"Brilliant," Roger said and gave up, slumping down on the floor. It appeared that Bryce felt slight remorse for his comment and decided to be off some use. After being given some stale bread from Tuck, he darted about offering scraps to everyone. Watching closely, I noted he took none for himself. Not a single morsel. The poor man must have been starving.

Not many others were so chivalrous. "Why didn't we just go back to camp," Michael moaned for what must have been the twelfth time in a row. "I just want to go back." Keighley held back her insults over his patheticness and pretended to comfort him, tapping him slowly on the shoulder. Despite the situation, she was strangely at ease because for once, no one gave a damn about hating her. Tragedy could bring anyone together it seemed.

And then we get to the next group of outlaws. Those who remained in the same useless position and did nothing, myself included. Robin as well. Will as well. At least Greg and Ben pretended to be busy. Greg lay on the stone floor, staring contently at the ceiling. "Oi! Tuck! Your ceiling doesn't look too stable. May want to look into that." Needless to say he was ignored.

Ben meanwhile could be found praying over many lit candles. He lit a few himself, with images of our fallen comrades in mind as he prayed for each and everyone of them to be with us. He uttered his prayer softly but we all heard it. The final words created quite the stir. "Until we meet again."

"For Gods sake," I said ignoring the gasps at such language inside of a church. "Sorry, but stop with the death talk. We're going to be fine."

It was around then that we smelt the smoke.

The smell was meager at first, easily dismissed. But it grew. As did the roaring of the crowd.

Finally, a crash brought everything to light as a rock was thrown through a stained glass window near Ben. Instantly, he dashed over to retrieve it and upon reading, hid it behind his back, obviously not wanting us to know its meaning. "Well," Will said angrily, "what did it say?"

"Nothing," Ben said, his voice suddenly high pitched and nervous, "just a rock. Plain ordinary rock. Pretty spiteful aint it? Throwing a rock at a perfectly nice window."

He was too busy lying to notice Greg sneaking up behind and could do nothing as the rock was wrestled from his grasp. The worrying thing was that, upon Greg reading it, he also hid it. "He was right. Nothing there. Shouldn't we block that window or something?"

Robin had been silent for so long that it seemed strange to hear his voice as it rung out across the church. "They want me don't they?"

Both Greg and Ben gulped nervously. Robin simply gestured for the rock to be thrown to him. Greg sighed in defeat as he tossed it over. Looking over Robin's shoulder, I could see the words, 'give yourself up Hood or watch as you and your men burn.' All the while smoke was beginning to creep under the door and a fair few men were beginning to breath deeper than usual.

"Well I think I can safely say that we are all in agreement," I said, trying to hide the panic, "Robin certainly isn't going anywhere." Everyone nodded thankfully and I can honestly say the every person meant it. There was no question about it.

Everyone apart from Robin. One look at him showed that he would never let them hurt us.

"We can fight them," Much said, standing as tall as he could muster, sword in hand.

Robin walked over calmly and pushed his arm down. "Never let anyone tell you that you are no warrior Much. I've never seen a braver man."

"Don't talk like that," Much said, blinking back tears. "You know, I don't mind everyone insulting me. So you're allowed. Right after we get out of this."

John joined them, club in hand, "Do you remember when Amelia was captured and we were sure she was going to be killed? You came to me. And you remember what you said? 'There is always a way.' And there will be. We just have to find it."

Robin shook his head, doing his best to blot out the yelling from outside. "There isn't time," he said softly. More rocks were being thrown. No messages were written. The only message was implied.

"We won't let you," Roger said, "we outnumber you."

"But you aren't fools," Robin said, still soft. This soft tone scared me. "You know they will kill us all. There is a way out. And that way is me. I have to go."

For the first time in my life, I couldn't say a single word. Nothing a sound came. Robin just looked at me and smiled. "It's going to be alright Allen. You are all going to be alright."

And before any of us could stop him, he was at the doors. With one mighty push, both doors heave back to reveal a sea of flames and fury. All sound erupted to an even greater level as their target was spotted. And Robin did nothing. No weapon was drawn. No attempt to run. He just looked back at us and smiled slightly. Then hands clutched at him as he was pulled into the crowd. Finally words returned to me as I bellowed after him, pushing my way through the crowd. I must have looked like a madman as no one dared defy me. Roger called after me in panic and quickly followed. I barley noticed. I barley noticed anything. For the life of me, I just couldn't keep up. I was barley into the crowd when I saw that Robin had already reached Prince John's booth. He stood so tall, refusing to show weakness. Both men just stared at each other for finally, a clear victor was shown. In one final act, Prince John struck him hard across the face. Then his fist loosened and gestured to fellow guards around him. They took over the striking. Nothing could have been more brutal as I could no longer see Robin as he fell to the ground. When he was pulled up again, he wore an entirely different type of hood. An executioners hood. Despite the roaring of the crowd, I heard the meekest of voices utter my name. My heart dropped as I heard it. Turning, I saw Marian, completely terrified. Roger yelled at us both but his words mulled together for both of us. We couldn't move as we, along with everyone else, watching Robin be dragged off again, but this time so the podium. There was no noose, for which we had been accustomed too but rather, an executioner, and a large axe. And all the while, the people we had spent three years saving, continued to cheer. Cheer for his death. Triumph was apparent on both Prince John and Terrowyn. But not everyone looked as happy as they did. The Sheriff was completely unreadable as he viewed the whole thing. The shocking thing was Gisbourne. He attempted to remain blank but there was something more. Something impossible for such enemies.

It shocks me that I can remember all of that now. For at the time, I couldn't look away from Robin. I couldn't think at all. Desperation was the only thing I felt. But there had to be something. Anything. My best friend was about to die and all I could do was stand and watch. Eventually I fought someone off as they tried to pull me back. Later I learned that this was Pete but at the time is was just a blank face trying to take me away. The roaring grew. Prince John spoke but I couldn't hear a word.

All I could do was watch.

I saw the small gesture of his hand.

And I saw the axe fall.

Then there was silence.

No one could believe it. And then the cheers began again. Actual cheers.

I would have been furious. I wanted to fly into a furious rage and attack anyone in range. But all I was numb. Unable to move.

Eventually I managed the slightest of movements and turned my head to Marian. She had collapsed onto her knees, supported by Roger as she too, stared into nothing. Short quick gasps escaped as she held in hysterics.

And then I felt myself being dragged. I did nothing to fight it. What was the point?

It was Pete again. And I found myself in the Church.

Everyone was there. Some yelling. Some crying. And I still couldn't move.

And slowly, I began to return. I thought of Marian. Thinking to comfort her.

But then I was on the floor. With only despair.


	61. Listen to them

Prince John paused for a moment, his hands resting upon the wooden doors. The sudden quiet that came from their closing sounded strange, almost as if the roaring was still there. His fingers stroked the engravings on the doors in an attempt to calm himself. It was almost as if he was waiting to find that the past day had been a crazed dream. But everything remained. Everything, including his victory. Taking one last deep breath, he turned with a dark smile of absolute pride. With his eyes looking to the heavens, hands turned slightly upward in what appeared to be thanks, one would think that he was giving thanks. Then the hands came together and curled tightly and observed those around him.

The pride in Terrowyn's face reflected his own, though it was slightly more subdued. There had been so many times in which Terrowyn had insisted, "Hood means nothing to me. He is simply an outlaw. An outlaw that is hard to defeat yes. But a simple outlaw nonetheless. It is simply a job." But that was then. Now Terrowyn had encountered Robin a few times too many and the hatred had been planted. A calm smirk showed this. Those who knew Terrowyn knew that he rarely showed emotion. So the smallest of smirks from him was the equivalent to a gaping grin. He still appeared completely withdrawn and professional. Those dark arms were folded, displaying the many scars. Quite a few of those had been from Robin. Not a single muscle was relaxed as he stood stock still. He looked ready for battle. This was probably was made him such a brilliant warrior. He never allowed himself to feel safe.

Neither Prince John nor Terrowyn would have been the type to gloat. But the Sheriff on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to parade around the hallways of Nottingham castle, cheering his own brilliant. Sadly, he could not. For he had no claim. In the final defeat of Robin, he had played no part. And this killed him. Even his lowly servant Luke would receive glory. But he would get nothing save for possibly punishment for failing.

Gisbourne too, was present. But he did not hold the same emotions as anyone in the room. He didn't know what he felt. There was no victory. But nor was there pity, he liked to believe.

Meanwhile, Prince John was still enjoying his silent victory. After one final glorified breath, he spoke. "Listen to them," he said softly, referring to the massive din still protruding from the closed door. "Never in my wildest dreams. I never thought that I could have it all. Defeat my enemy and have those cheers." Then he turned, showing off the large grin to everyone. "Well wasn't that fun?" he said, all sounds of deep reflection gone and replaced with a dark happiness. Slowly, he strode over. "I only wish I could do it again. Oh wait," and with these words he bent down, dagger in hand. "I can." And then he looked straight into Robin's eyes.

"Listen to them," he said again, this time only directing the order at Robin. "Isn't is spectacular? You know, I thought long and hard about how to kill you. And I have known for a long time that I didn't just want to kill you. I want you completely utterly defeated so you almost begged for me to kill you. And now look at you. Hear those cheers? They are all for you. For your death."

All Robin could do was lower his head slightly, no longer even having the strength to hold it up. The Sheriff clearly had a mind to dim the victory in any way possible. "With respect Sire, shouldn't you move along with killing him? Hood has a history of escaping."

This was clearly not the right thing to say. Prince John paused, practically fuming. In a sudden motion, he had a hold of Robin's head by the chin and had snapped it around so that the Sheriff was looking upon his face. "Look at this face Sheriff!" Prince John said, trying to contain a minor amount of his anger. "Does this look like the face of determination to you?"

"Of course not," The Sheriff stuttered. "But I really think that-"

"Oh shut it! You are just upset that this is how it all ends. And your failure is known. Three years, and you could never catch him. I gave you the task and yet I did it myself."

Terrowyn raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing. Despite Prince John's words, everyone knew that Terrowyn was the mastermind in every sense of the word. But this fact was not important to him. Yes, Robin had found a way to get under his skin, but this whole thing was still a job. And now it was over. And there was a much bigger task upcoming. Still he spoke, surprising all by siding with the Sheriff. "We all that the Sheriff's many failures are apparent but I regret to say that I agree with him. Hood is tricky. If I had had things done my way, it would have been him up on that podium. But you insisted on being the one to kill him."

"Of course I did! He is my enemy! The end can't come from some executioner. What was his name anyway? Exactly! No one knows. The task of killing Hood shall be mine and only mine. I listened to you. I appeased the public. They received their execution and 'justice.' But I want to watch as the life ebbs away from his eyes as he dies from my hand."

So, a quick explanation for any who are still confused. In the confusion of having his guards beating Robin to the ground, it was all too easy to leave the real Robin on the ground, bleeding and bruised, while they pulled up the hooded man who had already been tied on the ground and behead him instead. Those guards in question now lay on the ground, their blood slowly leaving a trail along the floor. No one could know. And no one had thought to question. After all, Prince John knew what his enemy looked like. No one would have ever suspect that there would have been a need to switch them. But they had underestimate Prince John. For he had a public duty. He knew that Hood could not simply be killed by his own hand. There were procedures to think of. And the public. But he still had the deep need to kill Robin himself. And there was also the fact that Robin had heard his own execution. He had heard the cheers of joy. No one deserves that. Is it any wonder that the man was defeated?

The dagger in Prince John's hand glinted just as much as the delighted gleam in his eye. He moved the blade this way and that, watching the light reflect upon it. Seemingly, he wanted a moment more of Robin fearing his upcoming death. But there was to be no fear. There could be nothing. This didn't stop Prince John. Whether he welcomed it or not, Robin was going to die.

A small glint of the old Robin returned as he once more raised his head, to stare into Prince John's eyes one final time. They both stared at one another for a while.

Breaking the silence was a sudden knock at the door. "Get rid of them!" Prince John yelled, not wanting to be rushed.

The Sheriff scrambled to the door, opening it the slightest crack he could and slipping out. It wasn't long before he returned. "Sire," he said softly.

"What?" Prince John yelled back.

The Sheriff gulped loudly. "He is here."

Everyone seemed instantly alert. Prince John looked form the Sheriff to Robin and back again. "Tell him to wait," he eventually said.

"He won't," Terrowyn said from the side.

Yelling a curse, Prince John flung his dagger across the room. "Soon," he said to Robin. A single word had never sounded so menacing.

He paused before leaving. After all, he could not simply arrange for a guard to watch Robin. No one could know. Surveying the room he finally decided, "Gisbourne. You stay here and watch him. It's not as if I can trust you Sheriff to do anything of use." Terrowyn stifled a smug laugh as he followed the Prince. The Sheriff glared straight back and followed as well leaving Robin alone with Gisbourne.

The silence was deep. Finally, Gisbourne spoke. "Well isn't this interesting." Robin was not bothered enough to reply. "Nothing Hood? No last clever comment? Oh don't be so pathetic."

"Do me a favour," Robin finally said, surprising both himself and Gisbourne. "Shut up and try to stop enjoying this so much."

"You ask the impossible," Gisbourne said but it was clear that he was joking. It was strange. There was nothing about Gisbourne that conveyed anger or excitement. Even Robin, in his depressed state, couldn't help but notice. But he said nothing. Gisbourne decided that the talking must have been left to him. "So nothing huh? Absolutely nothing. You are seriously not going to fight me or Prince John?"

"What's the point?" Robin said softly.

Gisbourne scoffed, disgusted. "Really? This is all it takes to upset you? Oh you know that you will be the people's hero in a week or so. So stop feeling so sorry for yourself."

Robin continued to stare at the ground and said slowly. "Not this time. They hate me."

Gisbourne laughed again but saw that Robin as completely serious. With a deep sigh, he finally said, "Oh for goodness sake are we really going to do this? Alright, so no one wants you do they? So I suppose that all of your gang are off celebrating? Because you are clearly nothing more than their leader. And you know full well that the people are Nottingham are just sheep. And stupid sheep at that. Within a week they will all love you again. And Marian-" He stopped then and took a deep breath. "I saw her. In the crowd. Trust me, you are more loved than you know."

Finally, Robin raised his head and looked at Gisbourne. And what he saw surprised him. Gisbourne was clearly upset. He remained silent as Gisbourne spoke on. "So you see? You see how truly pathetic you sound when you pity yourself? There are those who would do anything to have what you have. People who have no one. Those considered to be an enemy." He realised what he was saying and quickly changed his tone. "I don't mean myself of course! But you know, if we were using me as an example, it could sense. So you have heard people say some bad things about you today. I have had that for almost two years. And for what? What have I done? For trying to marry a woman I love. Is that true cause for me to be a public enemy?"

"You tried to kill me," Robin said, knowing that this was not a good enough argument.

"You tried to kill me first," was the obvious response.

Robin paused. "You killed Matthew."

Gisbourne chuckled slightly under his breath. "Oh Hood. You know so little about your men. You need to stop seeing England with such naivety! For England is lost! There are countless plots and schemes and before long, they will prevail. You best hope that Prince John kills you now for you won't want to be around when things start to happen."

The sound of footsteps made both men freeze and wait. But thankfully the footsteps passed by the room. With a loud echoing clang, Gisbourne dropped something onto the floor and kicked it to Robin. It was a key. Robin stared at it for a long while, completely confused. "It's real you idiot," Gisbourne confirmed.

"But why?"

The other man shrugged. "If anyone is going to kill you, it is going to be me," he said, sounding bored. It was obviously a lie. But neither man wanted to push the issue. Robin quickly busied himself with unlocking his chains to avoid the act of thanking him. The falling away of the chains was louder than expected and once more it echoed. Both men stopped anxiously, realising how loud they were being. But no one came.

It would have been so easy. The door was right there, and unguarded. But instead of running, Robin remained where he was, placing the chains around himself to appear restrained once more. "Are you mad?" Gisbourne said. "Get out!"

"I don't like things to be easy," Robin said with a little smile. And there was a twinkle in his eye with the mischief. Finally, the old Robin could be seen. His reasoning was also a lie. Both men knew that if Robin were to simply leave, Gisbourne would obviously receive the blame. Once again, the issue was not addressed and instead they waited in silence for Prince John to return.

Finally, the door opened and Prince John returned. "Now, where were we? Oh yes. Your death."

Terrowyn was no longer with him, obviously still with this mystery visitor. A part of Robin ached to find out who this was. But the issue at hand called for him to escape. "You can go," Prince John barked at Gisbourne. "This is between Hood and myself."

Both me were relieved when Gisbourne was excused. Now there was one less person blocking escape and even less reason for Gisbourne to be blamed. Now there was only Robin and Prince John. It was barley a challenge. Robin had to fight his hardest, but not for escape. He had to fight to keep his own smirk back.

"So sorry to keep you waiting Hood," Prince John said, faking regret. "But you know, matters of state and all that."

"Oh of course," Robin replied, surprising Prince John. "There are always matters of state. It just takes you that much longer due to your methods of useless ruling."

The prince chuckled slightly, actually delighted at the words. "So you're back are you Hood? Good. I know that I thought I wanted to kill you as a defeated man but in all honesty, it will be so much more fun to do it when you still long for escape."

"Well you know me. I don't stay defeated for long."

"Well something tells me that you won't this time."

"With respect," Robin said, in an extreme mocking tone, "I think you underestimate me. You have never been able to hold me before. And I don't stay dead for long, as you have just witnessed. You never know, I could, I don't know, develop amazing strength and break though these chains? And then I could maybe do something like commandeer your own sword and threaten you with it?"

"And how would you do that? Prince John said with a chuckle, reaching down to pat his sword. In shock, his hand feel upon nothing.

Looking up, he saw the sword in Robin's own hand, pointing at him. In the next moment, he pulled his hands apart suddenly and to an outsider, it looked as though he had just pulled them apart. Others would note how they were never on but Prince John was not to know this. All he did know was that he was now in complete danger.

"Listen to them," Robin told him and Prince John was obviously scared enough to oblige.

"They're still cheering," he said, confused.

"Yes but it is a lot quieter than before, wouldn't you agree? So following this pace, it won't be long before good defeats you again I'd say."

Prince John angrily remained silent as he noted how the crowds had obviously quietened.

"Now," Robin said smugly as the other man trembled. "that man you just met with?"

"One of Richard's closest friends. He's going to the Holy Land. Going to help control the hundreds sent to the Holy Land in your name."

This shook Robin as he paused, startled. "Hundreds," he muttered.

Now the gleam had moved to Prince John. "Hundreds," he repeatedly happily. "All intent on helping to kill King Richard. And you can't stop them."

"I can't," Robin said quietly. "But I can do this," and he struck Prince John as hard as he could on the side of his head. The blow left him unconscious but Robin struck him again. Just to be sure. And because it felt bloody brilliant.

Now there was no one to stop him as he rose, donned his hood and walked from the room.


	62. The Return

Meanwhile, misery was apparent in the Church. Under the circumstances, I find it rather acceptable that the majority of the gang became completely and utterly useless. Michael had long since taken Marian away to a prayer room in the back to give the poor girl some space but everyone else remained, scattered about in small groups as they cried. Roger however did not enjoy being useless. He mourned of course. It was be unspeakable not to. But the act of mourning is different for everyone. Roger was the type of person who found themselves desperately in need of something to do. His mind refused to rest as it was suddenly filled a multitude of things that needed doing. First and foremost, clearing our names. And he was done simply sitting around tapping his fingers. In all honesty, I suspect that a major influence of his sudden action was guilt. And this guilt was over his apparent lack of emotion. None of us judged him on it. We all knew that Roger had never been one for obvious emotions. But still, he worried that he looked heartless, as he was unable to shed a single tear. It just wasn't the way his body worked. Inside, he felt completely broken. Despite his best efforts, Robin had weaseled his way into Roger's friendship. It wasn't widely known but the two enjoyed each other company, despite Roger's claim to hate any and everyone. So he did all he could to appear mournful. But sitting slumped on the Church floor made his mind all the more crazed. He did everything he could to do mute this. Sighing, he ruffled at his hair, cursing how fast it grew back. So instantly his mind thought to give himself a trim in an attempt to hide the red. But one could not simply give ones self a haircut after the death of a leader and a friend. So he was stuck once more. His next attempt was that usual annoying act of drumming his fingers against the cold stone floor. No one even had the energy to glare at him. His mind now ordered him to clean his hands, but then he remembered that he cared nothing about cleanliness.

So that was my attempt to understand the mind of a crazed, bored and guilted man. But eventually he admits that if he was going to do something, it was to be something useful.

And then the memory finally returned that there was an angered mob outside, waiting to send us to a similar fate.

He found great joy in the observation that Pete seemed just as uncomfortable as he was. Pete had grown very distant from us that past year since Luke left us. And he hated people. But even he mourned, though it was a lot less than the others present. So Roger went and joined him, sitting in a pew toward the back of the church. For once in his life, Pete looked glad for the company. Both were quiet for a while. "So," Roger said slowly, each sound drawn out, "how are you?"

Pete shook his head as he tried to find the words. "I just, can't believe it. He, just-" And then his head shook again. "I just wish there was something I could do. For them," he said as he gestured around. Roger hated to purvey the others. Such misery broke his heart.

So he continued to stare at Pete. "Well what there is there was? Help me clear our names. Did you talk to Luke?"

Pete nodded, "he helped us, just like I said he would. So what is the plan? Show everyone the lookalikes and clear your names? Don't you need a little more than that? How are you going to catch them? And how are you going to be unseen?"

"Well excuse me, I've never been one for plans!" The negative attitude rather upset Roger and he wasn't afraid to show it. "Look, I'm trying alright. But what can I do, go ask Allen? He's always the one for plans. You really think he's up to planning? But I aint gonna just sit here and wait to die. So what do you know?"

"Their location," Pete replied. "But I would think before running off. Are you sure that you're alright? At least, enough to have your mind where it needs to be."

"I'm fine!" Roger said, a little too defiantly and loudly. Hushing his voice slightly, he said, "I just, need to something, alright? I can't just sit here!"

Nodding, Pete said, "take a few others with you. You'll need help. And they could probably do to get out as well."

Unconvinced, Roger looked around at what the gang had to offer. Seemingly, nothing. Everyone looked completely and utterly lost. But Roger was no fool and knew that he could not do it alone. So possible candidates were assessed with the possibilities of strength, skill and emotional stability. It seemed obvious that this would be a small gang.

Eventually Roger decided that everyone was emotionally useless and to just think for skill. This left John as the obvious option. But while Little John looked fearsome to the rest of England, we knew better. And he was clearly an emotional wreck. This wasn't an obvious fact as he was clearly trying to stay strong for a weeping Amelia beside him. But his eyes were brimming over. His eyelids refused to blink in fear of them spilling over but they did so regardless. But there was no sobbing. No pain. Just shock. So he seemed to be Roger's best bet.

Roger approached slowly, not wanting to gain Amelia's attention. He was probably safe as she noticed little around her. "Uh John," he uttered, as loud as he dared, "can I borrow you for a moment?"

Words seemed to take their time passing through John's ears and into his mind. It took him a while but he finally realised that Roger was speaking to him and that he had to figure out how to reply. All he could do was make muffled sounds as he gestured to Amelia, clearly stating that he couldn't leave her.

Sniffing, Ben spoke up beside them. "I'll stay with her," he said, his voice sounding odd and croaky. The old John would have hated to leave his wife in such a state. But the events of the day had left him broken and he just stumbled about from place to place. Hence he followed Roger.

There was work to be done but it was still a time of mourning. So Roger thought it best to seem as compassionate as he could. This was not a plentiful amount. "Are you alright?" he asked, quickly so as to get the taste of compassion out of his mouth. John nodded slowly, insisting he was fine. Raising an eyebrow, Roger accepted this. He could clearly see that John needed no compassion. He needed to be pushed. And what harm could come from being pushed in a helpful direction? "Look," Roger said, dropping all of the lulled pretense, "We can't just sit here mourning. We need to clear our names. I know where those bastards are and we need to capture them. Can you help me?"

John barley looked at him. "Sure," he mumbled in that same monotone.

Thomas was next on Roger's mind. For Thomas had surprised him. Whilst many of the Merry Men took swigs from flasks to mask their grief, the chief drinker amongst them had not sampled a drop. Extreme circumstances seem to result in extreme change. He had also with held tears better than the others. They were there, but a lot less obvious.

So Roger quickly sat beside Thomas and muttered, "John and I are going to go catch those lookalikes. Are you in?"

Thomas looked at him, rather confused. "What? Why?" It was obvious that he thought nothing for himself or the other Merry Men. His mind was clearly occupied.

"To stay alive maybe?" Roger said, rather annoyed at how no one had seemed to even consider it.

"I'll come," Mark said, surprising Roger. He hadn't notice how close the other man had been sitting. What was even more surprising was the anger in his voice and face. "Someone has to kill those bastards."

Something about those words unnerved Roger. "We don't need to kill them. Just capture them and clear our names."

"Their bodies could do that," Mark said barley even pausing after Roger's words.

Off to the side, Lilly gasped in shock and Will frowned. "We don't kill anyone."

"Right," Mark said with a sort of crazed look. "But that was Robin's rule. And Robin isn't exactly here is he?"

Through a shocked sob, Lilly told him, "shut up Mark! You're making things worse!"

"How could things get any worse?" Mark said, gaining volume and the attention from everyone in the church. He gestured around, now yelling. "Look at us! We're nothing now! And don't give me any talk about the people will try and kill us. Because that won't. There's a reason that we're Robin Hood and the Merry Men. It's because no one cares about us! So yes, let's go after those men. But I don't give a toss about clearing our names. I want to kill anyone who helped this happen! Starting with them. Then Terrowyn. Then Prince John."

"You're talking crazy-like," Keighley uttered from the small group that had gathered.

Even Pete had joined us. "Calm down," he said in a soothing voice. "You need to think."

"Oh I really don't," Mark said in complete spite. "You don't know! You weren't there! But Thomas and I left the church. Why are we still here you ask? Why weren't we captured and killed too? Because no one cared. They were too busy looking at Robin, which is fair enough. But eventually they looked at us. Thought we were part of the crowd they did. Part of the goddamned crowd! One of them even handed me a torch! So don't stand there and say that they want us dead. 'Cause they don't! So I for one, want to see the bastards bleed!"

There was a stunned silence. No one had ever heard Mark talk in such a manner. Much spoke first. And chose the wrong thing to say. "I mean, you never know do you? Those men, the ones you want to kill, they could have been, I don't know, blackmailed into doing it, or something.

"There is no excuse for what they did,' Keighley said, her voice breaking slightly. "They had to know what would happen! So there is no excuse."

And then there was the pained silence again. "I'll tell you what," Will said, "if we survive this, I quit. I am sick of saving these people that will turn on us every chance they get. Do they think we enjoy risking our lives everyday? The only reason I joined was to kill the Sheriff. And it sure as hell doesn't look like I am going to be doing that anytime soon. Some of us have given three years into helping them. And then they do this. So I say we catch those men, clear our names and go our separate ways."

"Right behind you," Greg said. He was a lot calmer than the rest of us. Surprisingly docile actually. But one could see that he was very close to a break down. "I didn't join the gang to be hunted by the people I was trying to save."

"I picked up the rock," Ben whispered. Despite the whisper, he still managed to be heard by everyone. "I was the one who picked it up. He wouldn't have known."

His face broke a few hearts in pity. Many eyes darted to the rock where it still lay, it's bloody message shining in the candlelight. "Don't do that," Martha ordered, instantly alert. "Don't blame yourself. What could you have done, thrown it away? He would have found out what the people wanted and chosen to go anyway."

"I should have thrown it away," he muttered. "I never even thought of that." Then standing up suddenly, he said, "send me out there. Just do it! I deserve it! Let the people give what's coming to me."

"Don't be ridiculous Benny," Will said, "We aren't going to let them execute you."

"My name is Ben!" he yelled. "And I deserve it! You don't understand! When I picked up the rock, I could have done something. Or at least tried. But I didn't. Because I thought-" He stopped suddenly to cover his face with his mouth as he swayed dangerously. Will was instantly at his side but Ben pushed him away. "I did nothing because I didn't want to die! There was the smallest moment where I thought, 'well, better just him than all of us.' And then by the time I realised how crazy this all was, it was too late. So it's my fault. It's all my fault."

Finally John seemed aware of what was going on as Ben's words shocked through him. Standing suddenly, he stormed up to Ben, looking terrifyingly furious. Ben stood with his head held high, though his lip quivered. "Do it John," he said, encouraging.

John did nothing but hug him. As Ben sobbed, John reassuring said, "it was no ones fault but Prince John's. And we will stop him. Once we clear our names."

For a short time, the only sound in the church was Ben's sobbing. All the while, Roger was at a complete loss. Thankfully, he wasn't the only present that dealt with grief through being organised. "Right," Martha said, practically leaping up to take charge. After a quick scan of the room, she mentally assessed who would be able. "Right, Roger, John, Much, Pete and Thomas, come with me to capture those bastards. And when I say capture, I mean capture. Mark and Will, you can come after you have some good reflection over your morals. The rest of you, stay here, take deep breaths and help each other through."

Roger couldn't believe how fast everyone reacted. His own leadership was seriously brought into question. She suddenly fascinated him in the way that she was so calm and collected, whilst retaining the ability to control everyone. "You alright?" he asked her, for what seemed to be the twentieth time that day. She nodded and for the first time that day, Roger felt as if someone was honestly telling him that they were alright. "How did you manage that?"

"It's how I cope," she told him. "I organise everyone else. Trust me, I will break down, when everyone is perfectly fine again."

"So never?" he asked. She nodded and went back to bossing everyone about.

It was about then that I finally struggled out from the grief to realise what was going on. "Where are all you going?" I mumbled in confusion.

"To kill the bastards!" Mark called.

"You are still not going!" Martha called over to him.

For some reason, I completely lost it. "So what, we are all just going on as if nothing has happened?" Keighley started to interrupt. Something about me being foolish or something. As per usual. But I wasn't in the mood to listen. "Oh shut up! As if you even have a reason to be upset. It's not like he wanted you or anything."

My words shocked many. Keighley may not have been our favourite person but that was out of line. Much stepped forward to place a hand on her shoulder as she shook slightly.

And I wasn't done. "By all means, let's listen to Martha! She can be the new Robin! It's not as if any of you care! He hasn't even been dead an hour and you care only about clearing your names. For goodness sake, find your humanity!"

Roger was the only one who dared to face me. "Allen, I know you are going through something mad that no one should have to go through-"

"Don't try and talk me down! I'm fine!"

"Allen, Robin wouldn't want us to-"

"How do you know what he want?"

And then I heard it. That wonderful voice. "Well he is bang on actually."

Turning, we all set eyes on Robin, standing by the alter, wonderfully and perfectly alive.

No image could have brought me such joy and I suspect that it rarely has since.

The next few minuets were a blur as everyone was embracing him or cheering or crying or dong whatever the hell they liked.

Suddenly there was no angered mob outside or horrific Terrowyn plot. There was just an ecstatic group of people rejoicing the return of the friend.

The return of a hero. Whether the people of Nottingham liked it or not.


	63. Such Was the Way

News can sometimes take a while to spread. Parts of the Church may have been rejoicing but others were still in unknowing darkness.

Michael for example, found that he had a plentiful amount of time to sit about the prayer room of the Church, doing absolutely nothing. This wasn't by choice. He wanted nothing more than to be able to comfort his best friend. But what could he possibly do? No words could be said and all action seems completely and utterly useless.

Marian herself, had turned extremely docile. She hadn't moved from her spot, still knelt in the first pew. Eyes were squeezed shut, almost as if she was trying to block out the reality of it all. Her head was bowed, as if in prayer although Marian had never been one for prayer. Desperate times I suppose.

The main church area had obviously not been the place for one so broken so thankfully Michael had possessed the common sense to gently pull her away. It didn't take much force. A feather could have probably knocked her over. He had hoped that a bit of separation would make the whole thing feel slightly less overwhelming if possible.

Such nobility in Michael surprised me. But he was one of the few Merry Men who selflessly thought of someone else at such a time. Normally, he didn't do an awful lot. It wasn't his fault. His heart was in the right place but he just didn't possess the same skill as the rest of the gang. Such a fact never held him back as he didn't care. In his way of thinking, there was no reason to prove himself. Being the best was of no importance. Even being considered slightly better than average had no appeal. But on this day, it was clear that he well and truly deserved his place.

This was obvious to everyone but him. He felt on shame. Shame that he could do nothing more. Shame that he did nothing to stop what had happened before.

And Michael grieved too. Everyone did. He too thought of Robin as more than a leader. But he refused to cry upon remembering that Marian had always hated people crying. He knew that things were probably different now but he didn't dare risk it. And he would do anything for her. So doing nothing was quickly eating away at him. For what must have been the twentieth time that day, he yet again paced the room. Each step seemed to make the walls enclose all the more. The cobbled stone created a horrid echo that seemed to ring out and rebound upon the stone walls. He would have altered his route to step upon the faded dark red rug that ran along between the pews but this would bring him too close to her. And he knew that what she needed was space.

Each carving, telling of a different station of the cross, brought about more pain for Michael. Every face of pain and misery on each witness' face reflected what he felt. Michael had never been one for religion but suddenly, he found himself praying. "Right. Well. I'm not sure what people generally say in these situations. But God. Or Jesus. Or do you prefer Lord or something? Well whatever it is, I know that I am a terrible person. And we don't really get long do we. But other people don't deserve this. She, doesn't deserve this. Please." He had no idea what he was pleading for. It could have been anything. Just as easily, it could have been nothing.

Slumping in the last pew, he changed tactic. "Alright God, you listen here. You have already one horrid thing happen today. And I do mean horrid. So you need to help us! And I don't know how. But you should. And furthermore-"

He was interrupted by the sound of a door gently being closed shut.

Turning, he saw Robin sneaking through.

Reactions are different in all people. Michael chose to take a different path to our joy. He glared.

No chance was given to voice this disgruntlement. Robin simply put a finger to his lips and Michael knew full well that he hadn't come back to see him. Someone else had clearly been in mind.

Somehow, both men managed to convey a silent conversation to each other. Michael's glare gave way, showing how glad he was that Robin returned, but he had better not put everyone through a such a thing ever again. Robin managed to assure him that he wouldn't, and also gave thanks for taking care of Marian.

Michael knew full well when he wasn't wanted and happily nodded to the door, indicating where he was going. "I have go to find myself a woman," he muttered to himself with a smirk, feeling pleasantly jealous.

.

Marian obviously had no idea of anything. Always the last to know. But that was the Robin liked things.

Besides, she was not exactly in a state of observation. If she had been, she would have noted the sound of differed footsteps. Normally, she prided herself on such observations. She would never admit to it, but she could always tell when Robin was near, simply from the sound his feet made. Long ago she thought this occurred with everyone who had grown up together. But eventually, she noted that she knew nothing of mine or Annie's footsteps. And she had grow up with us just as much. That had been around the time she had realised she loved Robin. It seemed a century ago now.

But such thoughts were desperately avoided by her at that time. Any singular thought of Robin would have made her break all the more. And every inch of her was focused desperately on composure. Thankfully, she managed to keep her mind as blank as possible. Because of this, time seemed to both drag and fly by at once.

And even though she fought it, tears fell. It felt odd to her. She held away all sobbing. All movement at all in fact. Her face was completely motionless. Yet, tears continued to stream. There was simply no controlling it.

So she closed her eyes, desperate to block away everything, hoping desperately that whenever they opened, she would no longer be in the Church. She wanted to be anywhere, but there. The room now seemed to hold the reality. And with reality, came sorrow. And guilt. And torment. Basically, anything that she didn't want to feel.

Robin tried as much as he could to not enjoy it. And the act of prolonging everything was oh so tempting. He wasn't cruel in the slightest. But there was that small part of him that enjoyed seeing how much she cared.

Finally, Marian heard a voice. "You know, you had best be careful with how you act with these kinds of things."

She knew that smug voice. Turning quickly, she saw him, casually leant up against a large pillar, watching her. That little half smile was still there as he continued, "people will start to think that you care for me or something. And you don't want that."

He didn't have time to think of a second smug comment. Never before had she moved so fast as she ran across to throw her arms around him. This was surprising to him but it didn't stop him embracing her back, just as tightly. Her feet barley touched the ground as he lifted her up in his arms.

Surprising him further, she suddenly kissed him. It took him a moment to comprehend that such a thing could really happen. But only a moment. Then he was kissing her back. If he hadn't been holding her, Marian's feet most likely would have given way. But never before had she felt so safe. So loved. Her fingers smoothly traced the nape of his neck, remembering mere moments before in which she had been sure that she had witnessed his beheading. But here he was, head very much intact. And she didn't care how. The only thing that mattered was that he had somehow returned to her.

"Hang on, hang on," he said as they paused to catch breath. "Is this one of those times where you will deny this happened tomorrow?" Such a question was fair enough. Her track record spoke for itself.

But she shook her head furiously. Tears were still streaming, but from the ultimate relief that she now felt. "I don't care anymore," she managed to say. It was difficult to speak through the sobs, you see. But somehow she managed.

"Really?" he said, with a raised eyebrow. "Wouldn't be surprised. I can describe you in three words. Stubborn, stubborn and more stubborn."

A hint of the old Marian seemed to return. "Well if you would prefer that," she said, pretending to turn away. He pulled her back instantly.

They could have stayed there forever. And made their best effort too. But finally, Tuck got the fright of his life wandering through those doors.

Now normally, he wouldn't have minded such a scene so much. Having known these two since they were young children, he was definitely one of the people who had yearned for them both to clean up their act and end up together. But the timing was no ideal. And we had not been alone in the church as we had previously thought. Tuck had been housing a group of young novices of whom he had hidden away to keep them away from danger. Around then, he thought to move them to the prayer room. What he had not expected to find was a young unmarried couple in a passionate embrace.

Letting out a deep throaty cough to gain attention, he said in a booming voice, "and here we have a prime example of sin! Now I'm sure that both of these sinners are extremely repentant and sorrowful over their wicked ways."

It was obvious that the pair of sinners found the whole thing hilarious. Marian had a hand over her mouth to hide the laughter as Robin managed to mumble, "so very, very sorry." Marian could only nod.

Tuck approached them and whispered, "Do you two mind? You are making these novices second guess their vows."

This wasn't the best thing to say as both Robin and Marian were already holding back their laughter. But they did their best to plaster on looks of regret and shame.

"Don't you have lives to save or something?" Tuck asked, thankfully excusing them.

Robin pulled Marian by the hand as quickly as he could so she could release the giggling she had been with holding. "Tuck is going to murder us," she finally managed to say, when they were a safe distance away, down a long corridor.

"Let him try," Robin said, though he did quickly check behind him for Tuck.

"You're worried aren't you?" she said, rather enjoying the fact.

"No! I think I could defend myself from the likes of Tuck!"

"On a good day," Marian muttered, smirking.

The dynamic was back. Robin pretended to laugh mockingly and then decided that she deserved punishing for such a comment. Obviously, he couldn't hurt her, but he did enjoy pretending to. Under the guise of punishment, he was able to hold her close once more. With one arm firmly around her waist, she squealed as she was unable to escape. And then somehow they were kissing once more.

The whole thing did not work well for Will and I who had been sent to retrieve them. "I suppose we can wait a little longer," Will whispered.

I said nothing. I was a mixture of shocked and thrilled. And I suspect that my chin had probably reached the floor by the way that it fell open in surprise and refused to shut. My eyes had never felt so open.

"Come on," Will said as he had to drag me with all of his might.

It all worked out I suppose. Even without the reminder from Will and myself, Robin did remember that we were far from being in the clear.

Finally, he managed to pull himself away and say, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I have to go now."

"Go?" she said in surprise.

"We still have to clear our names," he said, clearly caring little about it. It was obvious that he had no interest in leaving.

'Great, I'll come," she said happily, turning to join the rest of us.

Robin quickly had a hand on her shoulder. "Or not. I can't be worrying about you when everyone's lives are on the line."

"Great, I'll come," she said again, blatantly ignoring his words. He began to argue but she interrupted. "You know that I am going to win this argument right? So save yourself the time."

And before he had time to respond, she had walked off. He paused, rather confused at how easily he had been defeated. Such was the way of Marian. Shrugging, he ran after her. It was the way of Marian, and he loved it.


	64. Forgotten Who I Am

I personally, would have favoured the idea of having a slight break. Maybe going and hiding in Sherwood for a while. Anything that involved safety basically. But that was never the way Robin did things. It had been less than an hour since we had assumed him dead and he already wanted to go out and risk his life once more.

I fought my hardest to give us a little more time. "Our names can be cleared at any time! What we need is a little time to regroup. So why not go back to camp for a little while? Or you know, anything but instantly run back into the line of fire? We need a plan." Being known as the 'planner' of the group had always been my pride and glory. And given the time, I could come up with hundreds of scenarios to have our names cleared with minimal risk.

"We have a plan," Robin insisted as we all walked on. The tavern which held all of the lookalikes was increasingly getting closer and we were all becoming increasingly more nervous. But not Robin. One would never see him nervous. Or maybe he was just better at hiding it? Either way, it calmness always angered me in high pressured situations.

"Well it isn't exactly a well thought out plan is it?" Will said, surprisingly siding with me. I suppose this was his way of showing care. He would never come right out and announce that he worried for Robin's safety. The only way he could show love was through criticism.

"Of course it is," Robin said happily. "We already have a way in to see what we're up against. And we outnumber them." Our voices were probably just little buzzing in his ear by that point as he would allow nothing to ruin the good turn of the day.

"And how do you know we outnumber them?" Will asked, not swayed in the slightest. Again, probably meant as love.

"I have a feeling," Robin said casually. And goodness knows he had gone into plans with less than that and come out scott free. But still we worried.

"Brilliant," Will said. "Let's all assume safety because Robin has a feeling. Bloody brilliant." He was clearly done arguing. In his mind, if someone was this proud and stupid, he deserved what would be coming to him.

"Robin's 'feelings' have done us well in the past," Much reminded us, gaining a thankful nod from Robin. He was always like that, like a little puppy who was eager to please his master. He had seemingly improved recently but it seemed that Robin's supposed 'death had brought him back to the beginning.

"We don't need some elaborate plan," Roger said. "We have the best resource possible. We can use their own tactics against them. If they can impersonate Robin, then I say it's only polite for Robin to impersonate them!" If there was one person who could convince Will, that person would be Roger. And even he sided with Robin.

But Will still was far from convinced. "So you really think that they simply won't notice a new person among them pretending to be an impersonator? Yes, they share similar traits but no one is that stupid!"

"Well I will handle it when I get there," Robin said confidently.

"And if you can't?"

Robin scoffed. "Have you forgotten who I am?"

Before we had time to fight further, we had reached our destination. And we all felt bloody uncomfortable about it.

"I still don't like this," John said, quarterstaff in hand. "Let us come." We all knew that only violence would come with that quarterstaff and that wasn't what Robin wanted at the current moment.

"Not a chance," Robin said. "Last time I checked, you lot weren't being impersonated. So it would be a tad obvious don't you think? I will give the signal when I am ready for you all to come up. Now be patient." I think that by that point he was starting to feel a little hurt by everyone doubt in him.

"Yes, be patient!" Mark said. "And while you're up there, there is no point us sittin' around and worryin'. So what do you say Thomas and I and go and acquaint ourselves with this new tavern? You know, it would be 'andy to know our surroundings in this unknown area."

Many an eye roll occurred.

"I still don't like it," Keighley said and for once, we all agreed. Marian didn't look happy at Keighley's interjection but there wasn't much she could do as she completely agreed. "Don't you think that it's a tad bit dangerous?" If you looked closely enough, there was a small glance shared between the two woman. A look of loathing. One could practically smell the danger approaching. Greg gave his sister a warning look that made sure she returned to the problem at hand. Michael did the same for Marian. Both men shared a look of relief to each other as both woman turned away from the other. They were obviously silently congratulating the other at keeping their female in line.

"It's only dangerous if you get caught. And I have no intention of doing so," Robin said with that same proud smirk.

Bryce sighed, being the first to give in. "Just give us a whistle or something when you're ready for us to come up."

"Wish me luck," Robin said, quickly darting away so to avoid our worries.

He obviously wanted this luck to be offered from one person in particular. But Marian wasn't in the best of moods. "If you go and die up there-"

"For the last time, I'm not going to die."

"Well you do always overestimate your skills."

"You know," he said with a smile, "just once, I would appreciate a few words of encouragement. Maybe something other than this increasing stubbornness."

"I'm not stubborn. I'm just always right." In Marian's mind, no truer words were ever spoken.

Obviously he would have loved to stay and continue the debate but there was work to be done. With one final wink, he was gone.

And all we could do was worry in silence. "So drinks anyone?" Mark tried to announce but he was glared back into place.

Robin had never had a lot of interaction with tavern's in his time, having never seen the need to willingly mull ones senses. But even he knew that he just entered a horrid establishment. If one could look past the horrid interior to lay eyes upon the people, they would see the reason why the tavern had such a bad reputation. It was after all, one of the few places that valued the Sheriff as one of it's regular customers. This fact reminded Robin of the only one of his men who had ever had an experience in that place. With sadness, he remembered Matthew, going out of his way to trick the Sheriff. And for Robin's benefit. From that experience, Robin had almost gained a kiss form Marian. Robin shook his head, wondering what on earth Gisbourne could have meant about Matthew. About how there had been more to his death. He resolved right then and there to pursue this issue no further. Even if Matthew had done something wrong, it would make no difference to study in now. It wouldn't bring him back. And he wanted to remember Matthew as he did now. One of the best Merry Men he could have asked for.

Thinking of Matthew made Robin slightly second guess the plan. Because he began to think of all of us. His friends. And he had no wish to lose any more of us. So a slightly more reliable plan could possible have been useful.

But then he remembered who he was. And that damned confidence. And he shrugged off his doubt and carried on up a winding staircase. The whole place smelt old and each step he took was taken very gingerly, for fear that a step would crumble away with his weight. The only light source came from gaps in the walls where stones had fallen away. So as a matter of fact, there was actually a plentiful amount of light. What had appeared to be a rather basic building from the outside seemed to be rather large on the inside as the staircase continued to wind for what seemed to be an age. Being an outlaw came with its benefits and we were actually quite a fit group of people, excluding Much. Yet Robin found himself puffing at a rather embarrassing rate by the time he reached a corridor.

Only one door was closed. That had to be the one. The next problem for Robin was entry. Surely there must be some sort of secret knock or password. He gave up almost instantly and simply knocked having lost his patience long ago. The door seemed to sway slightly when touched, almost falling off its hinges. Robin considered that maybe the tavern might need to be added to the list of drop offs. Obviously it was in a little financial trouble.

And finally the door was opened and Robin nearly fell backwards in shock. For it was almost as if he himself had opened the door. Or someone had placed a mirror on the other side of the doorframe. For it was like looking upon his own reflection.

The only difference came from the mens faces. While Robin looked completely shocked, the other man conveyed only annoyance. "Another one?" he said, looking skyward in frustration. "For goodness sake. Just what we need. Well I suppose you 'ad best come in then." And without giving Robin a second glance, he had turn and walked off, quietly grumbling the entire way.

This worked well for Robin. He was far too dumbstruck to reply anyway. Everything only worsened when he entered the room. For what could possibly be worse than seeing a lookalike of yourself? How about seeing five?

Looking closely, one could see minor differences that did well in showing major differences. The one seated reading possessed skin that was far too pale. He obviously lacked a well trained mind as well, for the book was upside down and beady eyes continued to peek up from above the pages and glare about the room. One playing with a stray cat possessed too much facial hair. He was obviously slightly insane as well. For he spoke to the cat. Almost as though it were another person. Robin could not quite make out exact words, nor did he want. He did hear him say, "dearie" a lot and supposed that this must have been the given name for the animal. Another man, seated at a nearby table seemed slightly chubbier. And his hair was a shade too light. He was too busy to notice Robin, far too busy scribbling furiously. He was clearly anxious, sweating slightly. From his vantage point, Robin could see an assortment of maps, dates and plans sprawled across the desk. It was hard to tell any differences between Robin and the last man, for he was deep asleep, head resting on his arms at another table. A steady stream of drool ran across the tabletop and this was the only feature that could be made out.

All the while, Robin had a curious expression of confusion, bemusement, slight shock and pity. Never before had he seen such a group of misfits in one room.

It seemed that the first man was his only chance for some normality, despite the fact that he begun to play chess against himself. "Mind if I join you?" Robin said, glad to have found the skill of speech.

The other man considered. He didn't seem too thrilled at the idea but he finally nodded. "I'm Adam," he said gruffly. Then he pointed to each man in turn. Samson was the man reading. Wilson was talking to the cat. Harry was the planner and Geoffrey slept.

"Reynold," Robin lied.

"So how did you end up here?" Adam asked. "Big man in charge, I forget 'is name, told me that no one else would be needed."

"Terrowyn? Well I suppose he changed his mind. Long boring tale, I'm sure that you don't want to hear it." Obviously Robin could not be bothered to come up with a decent lie.

It didn't matter. He was right. Adam had no wish to hear about other people. "S'pose I really should learn his name. If it weren't for 'im, I'd still be pickin' pockets on the streets. This is a much easier way of getting loot ain't it?"

"And you don't feel at all guilty?" Robin asked, realising how quickly he had taken a disliking to the man. "I mean, if this goes to plan, people will die."

"So? I don't know 'em." Then he laughed. A horrid gruff sound. And he hit Robin playfully on the arm, obviously indicating for him to join in the laughter. Robin didn't. "Oh I see, you're one of those 'I have a conscience' folk. You think you're better than me?"

"Honestly yes," Robin said.

"Oh get off your 'igh 'orse! Sure, I've done things that normal people'd cry over. But you know the difference? I'm proud! I took myself from the lowliest of beggars and by the time I'm done, I'll be a Lord. Or somethin' like that. I 'aven't decided yet."

"And what of morals?"

"Don't got none!" he said with pride. Complete pride.

Robin turned around to view the others. "And the rest of you? Are you the same?"

Samson shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose, yes, it's not so great that people will get hurt. But it's a dog eat dog world you know. If we don't step on people, we will be stepped on."

Wilson paused as he considered. "Quite a debate isn't it. I mean, who is really at fault here? If people were to die, would I myself be at fault? I mean, yes I influenced some people but I forced no one to act in any way. And if I didn't join, the plan still would have gone ahead with this bunch of idiots. And yes, I have morals. But I think that helping my Mother and sister gives me slight cause to be here." Robin was shocked all the while. He spoke with such grace and dignity.

"I'm sorry. But you sound rather-"

"Different to these buffoons?" Yes, because I have breeding. And dignity." As if on cue, Adam let out a deep belch, smiling all the while. A look of distain came across both Robin and Wilson's face and he continued. "But our estates are going through hard times since my Father's death. And if this the only way I can get funds than so be it. At least the debate interests me."

Turning to the sleeping man, he called, "Geoffrey you fool, wake up. This new man wishes to know why you're here."

It took a fair amount of shaking to rouse him. And when the question was repeated, he just looked confused. Clearly, he was still asleep. He could barley look straight. He just shrugged and let his head fall forward once more.

"Trust me," Adam cut in, looking at Harry. "Don't ask that bloke."

"Oh why?" Harry said, his voice reflecting how panicked he obviously was. "Because having a conscience is such a bad thing? Robin Hood isn't a bad man you know!"

"You love the money just as much as the rest of us!" Adam called in disgust. "At least own up to the kind of man you are.'

"Yeah well, who says I want to be that kind of man."

"You do! By being 'ere."

Apparently Harry had no answer and he went back to his writing. Adam turned back to his chess game with Robin. "Don't worry. You'll get used to us. We're all mad."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Robin mumbled, just loud enough for the other man to hear.

It was instantly clear that none of the men could ever be considered a threat and we had an easy task ahead of us. And Robin tired of their company. "So in conclusion, you don't particularly give a damn toward if any of the real Merry Men are hunted and killed? And you don't give a damn about helping to your own King. Which will result in countless lives being ruined here in England?" Adam shrugged. Wilson considered, and also shrugged. Harry looked nervous. But followed suit. Geoffrey snored slightly and Robin too that to mean his agreement. "Brilliant," Robin said calmly and with a swift kick, sent the table flying. Chess pieces flew through the air and the board created a mighty crash as it hit the unstable wall. Each man leapt in shock and one let out a rather girlish scream. Though he denied it, it was obvious that it was Wilson. This scream acted as our signal as we all raced up the multitude of steps and arrived just in time to see Robin, sword in hand saying, "new plan. You all come with me, announce what lying dogs you are and we will let you live."

We would have been more help. But one has to count in the time that we all stood there, mouths open in shock at the sight. "You know, I think one Robin was enough," Greg mumbled.

It was around that point that the idiots finally realised that something was different about Robin. "So I'm starting to believe that you're not one of us," Wilson said slowly, clearly trying not to panic.

"Not very smart are they?" I said, eyebrow raised.

"So they are just like Robin!" Roger said with a smirk. Always the charmer.

"Please say you're joking," Robin said. "I hope I'm nothing like this bunch of idiots."

"Only slightly," John said. Holding up some rope, he added, "now to business." John had always been a threatening sight, even when he wasn't trying to be. Now that he was trying, the effect even startled a fair few Merry Men.

Each lookalike looked even more panicked than before, if such a thing were possible. Adam took charge, saying, "Alright, alright, so what do we get if we help you?"

"Your lives," John said, not in the mood for fools. "I'll get that one shall I?"

"Feel free to use all the force you need?" Robin said with a smile.

Adam backed up quickly, hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, you have a point. But you know, we are risking our lives in betraying Prince John. So surely we are worth a little something extra?"

"Fair enough," John said. "How about this? We spare your lives, and I restrain striking you all in the face."

"Subtlety. Obviously not the way you do things," Adam said with a voice dripping in sarcasm. But John's words had done the trick. All lookalikes, save for Adam, were offering up their hands to be tied. Harry had run so fast that he had practically been a blur. Rushing to avoid pain I suppose. And John would have been all too happy to provide such an outlet.

The others showed a slight amount of tact in their fear. Matthew pretended to find the whole thing a burden, stretching out word as if in boredom. "Uuuuuuh, I suppose I could help out."

"Don't strain yourself," Will said, clearly not impressed.

The lookalike named Geoffrey managed to drag himself out of sleep and across the room top stand beside Thomas. Both looked each other up and down, thoroughly judging the possible competition. Eventually, Geoffrey's eyes settles upon the hip flask on Thomas' belt. "You sharing?" he grunted. It was the first time anyone had heard him speak and the result was exactly what we had expected. Like nails running down a wooden board.

Thomas had seen his fair share of seedy people but even he reclined slightly. And such a request was not well thought out. One should never try and take Thomas' flask. Especially after aiding in the almost death of one his best friends. To an outside, he suddenly sounded sickeningly sweet but each sweet was dripped in danger. "Considering you were almost the cause of my friend's death, how about no?"

Adam was not as ready as the others. He stayed exactly where he was, clearly hesitant.

John cracked the knuckles on both hands. "I say we make him."

"The more force the better," Roger agreed. "Marian, I leant you my dagger. I need it back now."

Marian sighed, clearly not keen to give up the dagger. There was a bit of history there. Roger had always been very skilled with his daggers and had skills that others could only dream of. Hence, we were all a little jealous and wanted to get our hands on those daggers. There was just something about them. Something that made it impossible to miss. And very few people had been granted permission to even hold them. Yet Marian had been allowed the absolute honour of holding onto one. I suppose it made sense. She hadn't had a weapon thanks to the surprise of the day's events. And Roger had always had a soft spot for Marian so he had granted her use of one of his daggers. The jealousy in our faces was apparent.

Anyway, Marian was forced to walk forward and return said daggers. The trouble was, she finally caught the attention of Adam. And he had no issue with the sight. The first sign of danger was the loud whistle of approval he gave. The second was as he said, "I'd say she would have the best luck convincing me."

He was a fool and didn't see the signs. The rest of the gang did and quickly pretended to be distracted by something. Anything. Absolutely anything to distract from the disaster that was about to unfurl. Basically we looked anywhere but at Robin. Because such a comment was obviously not going to be well received. All the danger signs were present. Slightly narrowed eyes. Hands in fists. Clenched jaw. We noticed. Adam didn't. "I'm sorry," Robin said, overly calm, "what was that?"

That fool carried on. "Fine, less than an hour will do. I doubt I will need a lot of time." Each word was accompanied by an extremely dirty look and a few inappropriately placed winks.

The blow came from nowhere as Robin's fist speed through the air. I have never seen anyone go flying backward with such force. We all felt slight pity. But only a very slight amount. Then it was funny once more.

"I can defend myself you know,' Marian muttered, but one could tell that she was secretly pleased.

"Oh that was entirely for my own benefit," Robin said, blowing gently on his knuckles to ease the burning feeling.

"So shall we go?" Much asked, overly brightly. He clearly thought a change of subject was needed to keep Adam alive.

"Robin do try and restrain yourself, his face needs to be recognizable," Roger said, with no real conviction.

Will happily tied up the final lookalike. It seemed that the bindings were a fair bit tighter than they needed to be but no one offered an argument.

"Good show old chap," Ben said to Harry, not trying at all to hide the sarcasm. "I must say, you put up one hell of a fight. There were times when I seriously wondered if we could ever defeat you and make it out with our lives."

And then we were happily dragging them from the room. Wilson was the only one who put up a fight, and that was only so he could say a proper farewell to his cat. "So long dearie!" he called desperately over his shoulder.

It was around then that Mark had one of his few good ideas. "Actually, do you think it's possible to make the rope slightly less obvious?"

With care, each 'Robin' was taken outside. No one could tell they were tied up. All the people saw was five exact copies of the assumed dead Robin Hood. Nottingham had gone from no Robin to far too many Robin's. And people were obviously shocked.

Initially there was extreme confusion. No one could believe their eyes. Then one horrid man called out that Robin had escaped, clutching Adam by the arm. Around the same time, another man was clutching at Geoffrey and calling the same thing. The real Robin was caught soon after. Followed by Wilson and Harry.

Then there was silence as everyone saw that their apparent 'victory' was occurring to practically everyone. No one knew who the real Robin was.

And then there was silence. Each 'Robin' freed himself, quite easily thanks to the shock, and walked up the platform. They all stood, blank faced, staring at the crowd.

Roger leapt up, addressing the crowd. "So? Who can do it? Who can guess the real outlaw? Because I certainly can't and I'm one of his men. So now do you see? See what you've done? You continue to turn your back on the few who are brave enough to help you! Well I hope you're happy with yourselves. You think that we're the villains? Well take a look at yourselves."

The words clearly did the trick. Shock turned to clear uncomfort and embarrassment with a good helping of remorse.

Prince John was practically sprinting to join them on the platform. Terrowyn was close behind. "And here is the man responsible!" Roger said with a flourish.

The anger and spite were back but finally they were aimed at the correct people. "I am still your King!" Prince John yelled to be heard over the roaring.

The real Robin stepped forward, clearly bored. "A word to the wise," he said but paused, looking Prince John up and down. "Make that a word to the stupid. Give it up. Listen to them. You've lost. Again."

But giving up had never been clear to the fool. "GUARDS! He yelled, practically beside himself, "GET HIM!" Thankfully the guards were just as shocked as everyone else present and made no move forward.

Robin winked at Prince John and happily leapt off the platform to join us. And we ran off into the chaos. One angry look from Little John informed the lookalikes that they too were expected to run. Splitting up, we all ran into different directions with different 'Robins.' It was rather nice. The guards finally came tot heir senses and were ready to chase. But they had no clue where to start. "You know, I could get used to this," I said happily to Michael. "Maybe we should keep these idiots around. They have their uses."

"Really?' Michael said, and gestured to the nearest idiot. Harry was obviously close to tears in fear.

"I understand your point," I said.

Unfortunately, the Sheriff picked that moment to redeem himself. He seemed to be the only person present who was thinking clearly. And with a flourish, he ordered the portcullis to closed. This was our only exit. And there were one too many guards about for us to try and find another distant hidden place.

There was no way we would make it in time. Not many folk in the crowd took notice of this but thankfully Marian did. Pretending to trip, she had snatched away a villagers bow and thrown it to Robin. Within an instant, Robin had pulled an arrow form his quiver and fired a single shot. Now this particular portcullis was controlled by a large weight on the end of a rope. With perfect aim, Robin's arrow perfectly spilt the rope and released the weight. The portcullis went flying back upward to it's now permanent position at the top of the arch.

"Thanks love," Robin said with a wink as he ran past. Marian busied herself quickly to hide the obvious act of her blushing.

And we ran on until we reached the opening of Sherwood. Every Merry Man was present, along with a fair few extras. Tuck was running about hugging anyone close enough and mumbling prayers of thanks. Oliver had been lifted up on John's shoulders in victory. Amelia was clutching small groups of outlaws to her in passionate embraces of thanks. Lilly was practically skipping in excitement. Martha saw that everyone was finally calm and decided that this was her time to melt down. Thomas held her as she wept from sheer exhaustion and relief to the side. "Please say we can go back to Sherwood now?" Greg said, close to begging.

Robin paused, "there is just one thing I have to do first."

Everyone groaned. "Can't it wait?" Bryce said, voicing how we all hated the idea of Robin going out in that madness again.

But Robin clearly meant business, as he was suddenly serious once more. "It can't. I think we're in trouble."

Something about his words made us nervous. "Well don't you dare go off by yourself again!" I said.

The look he gave me informed me that he was not to be argued with.

"This is between Terrowyn and myself. There's a few things we need to discuss."

"If you bloody well go and die again-" I tired to say but he interrupted me with a scoff.

"Have you forgotten who I am?"


	65. The Sound of the Devil Herself

One could hear that sound from almost a mile away. On and on it continued. The sound of the devil herself.

Juliana enjoyed the loud clicking sound her heels made along the cobbled stone whilst she walked. Having the center of attention had always been an essential and this allowed her to be noticed before even entering a room.

And oh how she needed this attention. For she was bored. As soon as she realised that no one was dying, the whole day had quickly lost interest. And when no one paid her any heed, she lost even more. And considering no one had paid her attention in what seemed an age, she had not only lost interest. She was also furious. Was it too much to ask that everyone constantly focus on nothing but her? Not in her crazed mind.

Barley anyone paid her so much as a glance recently. She was beginning to feel invisible. Almost as though she had moulded into the background of existence. And she didn't like it.

So she strode onward, search for her intended target. And she found him too. When Juliana wanted something done, have no doubt that it was done quickly. Such determination is practically unrivaled. This would prove a dangerous trait.

Gisbourne was standing in the opening of one of the archways, looking out to the courtyard below. He was clearly staunch, barley moving a muscle. One could easily miss him in the shadows. Obviously he had no wish to be seen and Juliana could see why. For she could clearly see what he was looking at. Or rather, who he was looking at.

Marian and Michael strolled though the courtyard, side by side. One could see how relieved they both were for that day to be ending. Exhausted but relieved. Smiles were beaming out none the less. The speed of their casual stroll must have felt strange after the contrast of constant running. I suppose that was why they did it. The quietness was also favorable. It almost felt as though a deep sigh was rising from the pair as they happily reflected. Normally, you could never get a moment of silence when the two were together. And it surprised even them how comfortable the silence was. The soon to be celebration in Sherwood was scheduled to begin shortly and Marian had excused herself for a quick stop back at the castle. Michael accompanied her because that was just the kind of thing they did.

With an eerie ease, Juliana strode up to stand behind Gisbourne. Continuing with this snakelike grace, she intertwined her hands around his arm. "And how is my favourite underachiever faring on this fine afternoon?"

Gisbourne's eyes never left Marian. "Greetings wench. Don't you have some children to devour or something along those lines?"

A deep throaty laugh was her response. "You know, I've missed this," she said with a false smile.

"This?" he asked, completely uninterested.

"This," she answered, as though the simple word was explanation enough. "You know, us! Spending time together. Bonding. Etcetera and so forth. And by the way, the pleasure's all yours."

"A pleasure that I want nothing more than to decline," he said, still in that flat tone.

"Oh you joker," she said, giving him a playful shove. But it was clear that she was growing annoyed over he wouldn't even look at her. The trouble with Juliana always came once people saw through her wicked ways. When this happened, her charm was instantly futile. This idea had worked on every Merry Man. And Gisbourne had seen past her 'charms' long before we had even met her.

Instantly, she changed her tact. "So, how are you?" He raised an eyebrow and said nothing. "No! I really want to know," she said, suddenly compassionate. But then the act was dropped and she was quickly evil once more. "No you're right. I don't care. Back to me!"

"There's the wench I know and despise."

"You always had such a way with words darling. Simply divine. You could always make any female do exactly what you wanted."

"Why don't you go and spread your poison somewhere else?" But she was getting what she wanted. He was finally starting to anger.

She faked confusion. "What? What did I say?" She then pretended to scan the area and gasped as she saw Marian. "Oh how foolish of me. I forgot all about the girl. I suppose your charms don't work on everyone after all."

"From what I hear, the same can be said about you," Gisbourne said with a smirk. But it was clear that he was still angry.

"And to think," Juliana said wistfully. "All these years, I have been looking for a way to push your buttons. And now I finally know the answer. But seriously Gisbourne? Her? She little more than a child."

"And your wrinkles are showing," he said smugly, knowing full well that she would gasp in horror and feel her ace in panic.

Quickly, she composed herself, not wanting to show how easily he got to her.

Marian meanwhile, had no idea of the conversation going on ahead. She and Michael had run into one of her old maids who had returned to the castle for a visit after recently giving birth to her first daughter. The bairn was happily sleeping in her Mother's arms. From the look on Marian's face, she had just been asked to hold the baby. One could see the slight panic that flashed across her face. But the Mother simply smiled and placed the baby in her arms. And it almost looked as though Marian was glowing with happiness.

The whole thing made Juliana sick. "Kissing children," she grumbled. "Could she be any less obvious?"

Gisbourne shook his head and ignored her. For even Juliana knew that there could be no competition between the pair of them, though she would never admit it. For Marian was everything she was not. Gentle in contrast to sharp.

Every possible flaw was pointed out by Juliana, though none could possibly stand. "Honestly, you would think that she could at least update her wardrobe now and then. Fashions change you know. That horrid gown should be burnt. And it doesn't fit anyway.

But on the contrary, Marian had never looked lovelier. I had been meaning to tell her all day. She had always favoured blue and that day had been no exception to this. True, the colour had faded slightly with age. And true it was a little too long for her, causing her to constantly need to lift part of the skirt when she walked. But she was still a vision. The bodice clung tightly above her waist while the skirt cascaded the ground. Her hair too, looked perfect, despite the day of running about. Each golden curl fell freely down her back, aside from the few strands tied back by a ribbon. Juliana would never be seen dead with any of that. And it would all look horrid on her anyway, Everything had to be sharp and elaborate. That straight black hair was piled atop her hair in what she believed to be perfection. To the rest of the world, it just looked ridiculous. Her dark purple gown was adorned with countless frivolity of beads and lace and many others things that added to how tweaked her image was. It was all pointless. Nothing could give her the beauty that she so desperately sought.

"I must disagree," Gisbourne said, in an odd voice. "About the dress that is. I think it is a testament to her. When Marian loves something, she holds on to it."

"Oh Gisbourne," Juliana said with mock pity missed with amusement. "You really do have it bad don't you?"

He didn't even have the energy to argue. "Did you come here for anything in particular? Other than to make my life a living hell?"

"Well actually, speak of the devil, I came here about her. Your _love._" There was a tad too much sarcasm in that last word for Gisbourne.

"What about her?' he said, eyes slit.

"Such accusation!" she said, pretending to be hurt. "Honestly Gis, I just want what you want. To see you two happy together. I'm just being a good friend."

He laughed at that. Really laughed. It was definitely the funniest thing he had heard in a while. "Stop the act. You want Marian out of the way so you can have Hood."

"You make me sound so devious. Thank you. But seriously, you should hear me out. We could help each other you know."

He was not interested in the slightest. "Alright, I have two things to say. Firstly," and he let out an overdramatic yawn. She glared, not amused and he continued. "And secondly, are you mad? You really think you can tear them apart?"

"Oh why do you have to be like that Gis? I can't believe that you're giving up so soon! What can kind of example are you setting for your future children? You used to have such a positive attitude. What happened hmm? I mean, look at us. You know how we both started. In that damned village with no future. But we had spirit. Otherwise, we would still be there, married probably, hating each other even more."

"So what you're saying is that I should thank you for never showing to our wedding?"

"Yes! Oh come on. You didn't want to marry me just as much I didn't want to marry you. No offense, but I was aiming so much higher."

"And no offense but I was aiming for someone who doesn't make my physically sick," he said, though he was clearly amused. "And anyway, I thought the story went that I threatened you viscously? That is what you tell people I hear?'

"Well I do love to play the victim. And the truth is boring! No one wants to hear about a mutual parting. It wasn't so much of a stretch. People already think you're a monster. Well done by the way. Everyone is terrified of you. Hard to believe when I think of the darling little Gis that I grew up with. You're considered to be one the ultimate villains."

She had clearly hit a nerve but with an unexpected response. He showed no anger, only sadness. "If those are the cards that have been dealt-"

She sighed deeply. "Really? You are just going to accept that. You have no qualms being considered a villain? Especially considering you let Hood escape today."

"How did you-" he said, shocked. Then he realised how she had just tricked him into giving away his actions.

"I knew it!" she said triumphantly. "Oh Gis, you really have it bad. The worst I've ever seen. What kind of fool risks his own life to ensure that the woman he loves can be with someone else?"

"Risk my life?" he said, trying to stay calm.

"Oh yes," she said, matter of factly. "I have never seen Prince John so angry. You best make yourself scarce. It won't be long before he puts two and two together to see that you Hood broke through his chains easily after being left alone with you. And imagine what he would do to you. I hope no one accidently lets slip something."

He turned sharply, finally looking at her properly. "You wouldn't-"

She laughed darkly. "See? Now doesn't helping me sound divine."

"You can't keep playing these ridiculous games with people," he said.

"But then I would have nothing to do with my days," she said in mock confusion. Then she was laughing once more.

"You're crazy," he said. "But fine. I'll bloody well help you."

She held a hand to her heart, pretending to be honoured. "Oh Gis. That's all I wanted to hear. But I've changed my mind. Besides, it's too late anyway. I already told the Prince my theory. And he isn't happy to say the least. But I could have done worse! Much worse! Because I've figured out your secret."

"My secret?" he asked, clearly unnerved.

"The reason you came to England. Now I wonder what I could do with that information. Never you fear Gis, we will speak again. But for now, I suggest you run."

Gisbourne didn't need telling twice. But it was too late. Turning, he came face to face with the Sheriff.

"Come with me," the Sheriff said calmly and Gisbourne knew that he no choice but to follow.

Juliana smirked all the while, leaning over the balcony to watch Marian. "Well that filled in an afternoon," she muttered to herself. But then she was bored once more.

Although there was still a plentiful amount of possibilities left to spend her time on. And she couldn't wait to get started.


	66. Brilliant

The door slammed and suddenly Gisbourne was left with only silence. He paused, eager to drag out the moment. The final moment before there was no more avoiding consequences.

A final deep breath was had as he tried desperately to gather the needed courage. Putting on an unreadable face, praying all the while that it would stay.

Finally he turned to face his fate.

Prince John sat atop his throne, looking the complete picture of both regality and pure darkness. His glare sent shivers down Gisbourne's back as he tried desperately to hide the discomfort.

What was most disturbing was the crown donned atop his head. King Richard's crown. There was something extremely threatening in the action, despite his minimalist movement. All he did was stare intently, clearly studying him, waiting for something.

His voice seemed to pierce the air as he finally deemed the moment right. "So," he said, "You let Hood go."

Only defiant silence followed. Gisbourne knew better than to deny and speak up for himself. Or speak at all for that matter. It would be nothing more than an obvious lie. So he remained mute, still waiting.

Prince John tilted his head slightly, still staring with great intent. "Brilliant. And tell me, what do you have to show for it?"

Gisbourne's silence changed. Defiance was gone. Now he was just confused.

"There comes a time Gisbourne. A time to pick your side. A time to pick who you follow. And here is something to consider. Sway you, if it will. I shall be King soon. England shall be under my control. And Hood? Well, he won't be a problem much longer. For either of us."

Shaking his head as he spoke, Gisbourne voiced his confusion. "Hold on. So this isn't about punishing me? This is about me picking sides?" This was said with a mixture of relief and slight disgust. What he obviously wanted to ask was regarding the Prince's maturity levels. But he refrained.

"Well you know me," Prince John said, with false modesty, "I'm the kind of man that sees someone in trouble and feels an obligation to help them."

Once again, Gisbourne held his tongue. He intended to ask if they were indeed thinking of the same man. But instead he asked, "and what trouble is that you think I'm in sire?"

Finally there was movement as the Prince stood. "You know who you remind me of Gisbourne? Yes, myself. We were both entrapped in the clasps of some beautiful bitch."

Clearly startled, Gisbourne asked. "Just to clarify, you are calling your daughter a beautiful bitch?"

"Exactly," Prince John said without so much as a pause. "And you were right before. Yes you didn't say it but I know you were thinking it. Yes, I never help people. But what I wouldn't give for there have to been one person to help me back when I was where you are now."

Gisbourne said nothing. So Prince John continued. "Let me put this in the nicest way I can. You are never going to win. She isn't going to love you. No one will. See what you did today? Risked your own life to save your enemy. But people will still fear you. Still hate you. So for goodness sake, embrace it. My life began the day I stopped caring what others thought of me. I lived for myself. And look where I am now. Power. Wealth."

"Happiness?" Gisbourne asked. And it was a legitament question.

"Happiness comes in many forms. What you think will make you happy now will fade away. Yes I am happy. But not in a way I planned. But in a better one."

And then there was a brief moment of understanding between the two.

And then that moment ended.

"Brilliant," Prince John said, back to business. "Forty lashes will kill a man so we can't have that. But you did release my mortal enemy so you need something."

"What?" Gisbourne asked, startled.

"Oh you still need punishing," the Prince replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I am helping you.

"I thought you were helping me?" Gisbourne asked panicked.

"I am helping you. Each lash will hopefully imprint my words further into your memory. Think of it as reinforcement. Start to connect pain with the act of goodness. You will learn."

He then spoke only to the guard. "Fifteen will do I think. I am feeling kinds today." After a few he turned back. "Oh I forgot, I'm never kind. Make it thirty."

That guard was a horrid man. With a dark, toothless smile he lead Gisbourne from the room.

It seemed that his punishment was not to be an isolated event. For there was still an angered mob outside, calling for Norman blood.

Prince John needed a scapegoat.

Gisbourne was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And the people already had a deep hatred for Gisbourne. The thing is, none of them knew why. It was obvious that Robin and Gisbourne were blood enemies and the people loved to appease their hero.

Now Prince John always knew how to break a man, as we had just witnessed. He knew that physical scars would heal in time. But to kill a man's spirit, you had destroy his inner self. And nothing did that quicker that hundreds of screams of hatred and loathing. The plan had worked so well on Robin before he had escaped. So Prince John saw no sense in wasting the idea. So the crowd's hatred was shifted.

Gisbourne was yet to properly lay eyes upon the crowds. But he could hear them from the corridors. He found himself wishing that the twists and turns would never end. For he knew that the crowd waiting at the end.

But eventually the Sheriff came into view, waiting.

The Guard forced Gisbourne forward, using far more force than was needed. The action brought a smirk to the Sheriff. But no words were said. Only an ear splitting silence. The walls were obvious very thick as even the sound of the crowd was mulled to the point where it could not be heard at all.

There are sometimes those moments. Moments where the silence is so ear splitting that it can be heard loud and clear. That silent shriek seemed to rise, higher and higher.

Then the Sheriff let out a small silent laugh. It was almost like a cough. But it was an obvious statement. One of victory. The pair had always been in competition for the favour of the King. After all, Gisbourne had entered service as the Sheriff's right hand man but had quickly surpassed him once engaged to Marian. And of course, once that ended (thankfully), he was right back down again. But then Gisbourne organised the Locksley affair and he rose. Every event and action by either man resulted in the odds changing, normally in his favour. And it seemed that they may have finally reached their end.

"Afternoon Gisbourne. So tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure? Hmm? I take it that Prince John was, shall we say, unimpressed, with your actions of late?"

Gisbourne said nothing, choosing instead to continue staring with great defiance. It wasn't pride by any means. But whatever it was, it resulted in him standing staunch, awaiting his fate. He knew that was coming would come, and he accepted it.

The whole room felt eerie, almost in anticipation of what was to come. Each long pause only drew it out. And the whole thing seemed to anger the guard. That man obviously yearned for blood. His grimace only grew with the wait, stretching across that dark face. His voice was the deepest Gisbourne had ever heard. He addressed the Sheriff, "All you have to do is announce the canning. Then we can begin. So would you mind hurrying along?"

This was not the sort of thing to say to a man like the Sheriff. Still keeping that eerie calm, he approached the man, who tried not to recline. "If you ever dare to speak to me like that again, you'll be next!" the Sheriff said, almost hissing. "I give the orders not you. Now get moving!"

And suddenly the doors were pushed back. And the sound cascaded in. It wasn't simply a roar. It was far beyond that. Almost indescribable. Banging and crashing were all about as people threw themselves about, yelling and screaming. Madness, that's what it was. I only know because I was there. Will too. We had remained behind in Nottingham to pick up supplies for a celebration in Sherwood. But we had been roped in by the crowd. Guards of Prince John ran about, announcing the canning of the true villain. Gisbourne. We couldn't believe our ears obviously and ran off to see what was really going on. But there was no denying it. It was Gisbourne that would have the blame. The Sheriff stood atop the podium, the same one that had held Robin mere hours before. And he addressed the crowd. "People of Nottingham! You called for blood, well here it is! The man behind the deception of your Robin Hood. He is the reason you were fooled. And he is the reason that hundreds of people just like yourself have been sent to the Holy Land with the intention of killing our own beloved Monarch. So not only has he wronged you, he has wrong the crown. And shall therefore be punished. Should we let him live?" He asked the question with a flourish and the crowd lapped it up, begging for his death.

"This isn't right," Will muttered in shock. Even I had my mouth open, agaped at the people. "These people really are sheep," Will continued, too angry to show it anymore. "Yell anything at them and they will respond."

I shook off the shock, remembering who was up on that podium. "So," I said, with a nervous laugh. "It's Gisbourne. What do we care?"

Will looked at me, eyes slightly widened. "He let Robin go," he said, in the same way one would explain something to a child, "and is being whipped for it."

"So?" I said again, remaining staunch. "He may be innocent of what they're accusing him of but he has done countless other things that call for much worse."

"No one deserves this," Will said, gesturing to the crowd.

"He killed Matthew!" I yelled. Normally such a thing would have been too loud but I barley heard myself over the crowd. I was only angered further by the fact that Will still looked unconvinced. "What? So you're saying that killing Matthew was forgivable?"

"Well about that, " he said scratching his head. The seeing the look on my face he quickly silenced himself. But not before mumbling. "Well it wasn't as though he as trying to was he?"

"Oh brilliant. So by you logic, he's a good guy because he was trying to stab Robin and not Matthew."

"I'm not saying that . . " Will said, trailing off. Clearly he had more to say but I didn't care to listen. There was too much going on around us.

Well that the reason I told myself for not replying. But as much as I hate to admit it, there was a small part of me that knew he was right. Not that killing Matthew could be ever be excusable. But he had saved Robin's life today.

And we weren't the only ones obviously feeling guilt. It seemed that Robin was yet to reach his destination and had taken a detour to witness the spectacle. His expression was unreadable. There was no one he hated more, yet he had shown him mercy.

Marian and Michael were also quickly on the scene. Michael realised what was going on quicker than Marian and was instantly on alert, ready to grab her if she attempted anything foolish. "Just leave it," he muttered but she was clearly determined. And when that determination face was on, few forces would stop it. Luckily, there was a strong force of the crowd and it was near impossible to move through it.

From the same balcony as before, Prince John emerged. And finally the show could begin.

The Sheriff was clearly in his element. With a flourish, he called to the crowd, "Guy of Gisbourne everyone!" he said and was rewarding with ferocious catcalls and abuse.

He turned back to Gisbourne for a moment. "How sweet," he said softly, for Gisbourne's ears only. He needn't had bothered with such formalities. No words could be heard unless they were bellowed. "Isn't it sweet how the people have taken to you?" The Sheriff said, loving every moment. "They really love you don't they?" Gisbourne said nothing.

Then it was time to address the crowd once more. "Some call him harmless." The crowd yelled their response. "He continued, "Some call him simply misguided." The same response was had. "So what should we do with him?"

And the chant began. The chant for his death.

"Surely not?" the Sheriff asked in mock shock, hand to heart. "For he is practically one of your own. It's not as though he is of noble birth or anything." His words were drowned out by the cries of denial and the continued chant.

"And you're definitely not one of us," the Sheriff muttered to Gisbourne. "Do you have the faintest idea why you deserve this?"

Robin was clearly contemplating doing something. Many a time he made eye contact with us and tried to communicate something. But what could we do?

"So, any final words Gisbourne?"

After a pause, he finally said, as loudly as he could, "long live King Richard!"

The people jeered, thinking that he was mocking them. But Prince John grimaced. It was clear that those words were intended for him. He raised a hand slightly, indicating that the Sheriff should wait. This action silenced the crowd slightly as they watch Prince John make his way to the podium.

"Look at me Gisbourne," he said calmly. Gisbourne obliged, not bothered to fight over something so miniscule.

Just for good measure, Prince John clasped at Gisbourne's chin, forcing his head to stay in place. "I could have given you everything Gisbourne. We are so alike. Let me help you. You could be brilliant"

Gisbourne said nothing. All the while, people ignored the drama and simply called for blood.

So Prince John stood back and nodded.

And the first strike was made.

I never thought the crowd could get any louder but they quickly proved me wrong. It was completely astounding. Their velocity.

Gisbourne's whole body tense with the shock. Blood was already dripped onto the ground.

And then there was the second. And the third. Each sharp whack made me wince, despite my best efforts to hide it.

The whole thing was madness. Sheer madness. Even I had to look away. The crowd made me sick. The smell of blood filled the air and eventually began to spray slightly into the crowd. They loved it. Gisbourne thrashed about as each thrash brought out fresh blood that gushed from his body. For him, each moment dragged by at the pain was never ending. The face of the guard with the whip slowly changed. Suddenly it was one the villages with a malicious grin who brought down the whip. Then is the gap toothed youth standing in front.

Then it was the Sheriff. Then Prince John. Then Juliana. Then Robin. Then Marian.

"Enough!"

Prince John's voice rung out as Gisbourne went limp.

There was silence. I'm not sure if this was true silence form the crowd in shock or whether it was just my mind imagining it as I prayed that he was alive.

Everyone was waiting for the same answer.

"Christ," Will muttered, being the only one who could utter a sound.

Robin's eyes were lowered as he obviously couldn't bear to watch.

Surprisingly, Juliana was the same. The guilt on both faces was clearly apparent.

Finally, Gisbourne stirred, ever so slightly. Enough to have the crowd roaring once more.

Prince John stood behind Gisbourne, whispering in his ear. "How do you like seeing my power in action?" Gisbourne could not achieve moment it seemed. But Prince John assumed the answer. "So, what have we learnt?"

Still, nothing was answer. "I don't understand you Gisbourne. I really don't. Shall I end it hmm? End the pain? End your life? Tell me. You've got to be more careful. You could be dead soon. But still you remain quiet? Don't you realise, I hold your life in my hands?"

He clearly wanted a reaction. And he got nothing. "Take him away," he ordered and despite the crowds pleas, Gisbourne was untied and dragged away.

I released the breath that I didn't know I was holding. It surprised me how glad I was that he lived. Next thing I knew, Will was dragging me over to Robin.

I was almost in a daze from the whole thing. But I managed to hear Will angrily asking, "Why didn't we do anything?"

"It was too dangerous," Robin was saying. "There were too many guards-" But I stopped him by saying the one thing that was all of our minds.

"We could have done something."

.

.

.

Taking advantage of the crowd's confusion, Marian had raced away from Michael at the first chance she got. He knew better than to follow.

She wandered the halls quickly, not wanting to draw attention to herself. It was easy enough to follow the trail of blood.

The only thing she stopped for was to check the small dagger, hidden in the sash of her dress. This positioning was one of her greatest prides as it was not the easiest thing to accomplish.

Finally she seemed to reach the destination and she tip toed along the final corridor. The door opened suddenly and she was forced to leap back behind the corner. She exhaled quietly to calm the deep breathing. It was never good for ones nerves to be almost caught and she quickly struggled to slow her heartbeat from the nerves. Her fingers were quickly turning white from how quickly she clasped the dagger.

Peering around the corner she saw a guard, looking extremely pleased with himself as he attempted to wipe some of the blood off his uniform. It only smeared it all the more. Her eyes widened in shock as he walked away, thankfully in the other direction.

Marian always learnt from her mistakes and paused this time to ensure that the coast was fully clear. Each step was even more silent than before as she crept to the door and heaved it open with all her might.

The dagger dropped in shock.

Gisbourne had been left crimpled on the floor. At least, she thought it was Gisbourne. He was completely unrecognizable, being so covered in blood from the deep cuts covering his back. That same blood trickled down the ground in dark streams.

Time seemed to stop briefly, only brought back by the sounds of footsteps behind her. Turning, she saw Juliana behind her, that same look of shock apparent on her face as well. It was one thing to ignore the effects of your work when you didn't know them but it was another to see them in action.

Thankfully, Marian snapped back into action before Juliana and took charge. "Get me water. Now!"

Being ordered about was exactly what Juliana and she teetered over to a basin, struggling to run in those damned shoes. Meanwhile, Marian tore at the hem of her dress, creating a rag to mop away at his wounds. It was quickly stained red. She obviously no longer thought a thing for that dress as she knelt on the ground, quickly covered in a mixture of dirt and blood. Juliana was not as noble as hovered over the pair, refusing to kneel. Both ignored her after she played her part. And fetching the water had taken out all of her energy.

"What happened?" Marian asked desperately, already ripping up more of her dress

Juliana attempted to sputter our words but failed.

Finally Gisbourne managed to speak. "Leave me," he said, in the smallest of voices.

Marian didn't understand and continued to wipe away at his wounds.

"Leave me!" he said again. This time there was no ignoring the hate in his words. And not just hate. Complete and utter loathing.

Marian didn't know what to say for a long time. "Please,  
she said, "let me help you."

He flinched away from her touch. All she could think about was how he had flinched away from not one whipping. Yet he flinched from her now. "Guy, I'm trying to help you."

"Well look where your help has gotten me. Why don't you go and run back to your precious outlaw?"

She took a few moments to compose herself and blink back the tears of shock and hurt. She stood with dignity, passing the rag to Juliana, who in turn held it very gingerly.

"Get out," he muttered and she was only too happy to oblige, sprinting away as fast as she could.

Juliana slowly knelt, as delicately as she could to continue cleaning the blood. "Was that all part of your plan?" he said, his voice dripping in hate. "Get her to feel sorry for me so she would help me? Then somewhere along the line she would realise she loves me and you could have Hood? Well sorry for ruining such a flawless plan!"

She didn't answer for a while, instead choosing to work slowly, eyes lowered.

"I'm sorry," she said. The words seemed strange from her. "This was never meant to happen."

"What did you expect to happen?" he said, his voice dripped in menace.

All she could do was shake her head. "I didn't think. I didn't think about anything."

Sighing, she seemed to return to her former self. "I hope at least a little of the Prince's words got thought that thick head of yours. People like you and I, we aren't meant to be liked. Might as well embrace it."

The hard face returned. And the dark tone. "I'll send a maid or something," she said, sounding bored as she strode off. The trouble was, she was bored again.

And finally, just when he thought he could finally be alone, Gisbourne saw Prince John emerge from the shadows. "You can almost still hear the crowd," he commented casually.

Gisbourne glared. "Let them have their fun," he said, in that same deadly tone. "I will destroy them soon enough."

A smile crossed Prince John's face.

"Brilliant."


	67. For Good

Robin was clearly a man on a mission as we searched the halls. Very endless halls, might I add. For they stretch on and on as we continued to desperately search. To Robin, nothing was more important that finding Terrowyn and discovering the true situation of the Holy Land. Meanwhile, sleep was rather high on my own agenda. If only that was an option. Sadly, it never is. Will too, trailed behind, obviously resenting the need. "Is this really necessary?" I groaned as we found yet another empty room. Each empty room made Robin only more determined to find his target.

"No one said you had to come," Robin said, barely paying attention. "In fact, I recall asking you to go back to camp."

"Well someone has to make sure that you don't get yourself killed," I said, pretending I was joking. I wasn't. Robin's habit of getting into danger was increasingly getting on my nerves. And I never wanted to feel that fear again. He actually deemed fit to look at me then. It was the briefest of glances but I could tell he was grateful.

"And I don't want to go back to camp," Will said, ruining the moment, as he was prone to do. "They're celebrating," he said with obvious distain. His nose crinkled in disgust at the idea. And we all know how Will felt about spending time with us. He wasn't fooling anyone, we all could tell that he was actually fond of us. But he liked to keep up appearances. And that meant avoiding anyone who wasn't Roger.

"Just hide like you normally do," Robin said, his mouth twitching up in amusement of Will's obvious antisocial behavior. Seeing people in denial was always a great amusement to the likes of him and me.

"Do you really think Lilly would let me do that? What she says, goes, remember? And lately, she says I have to speak to more people than just Roger." This was also true. Lilly was really coming into her own of late. Gone was the timid wall flower. We all liked her so much more, especially Roger. Will failed to notice this of course. Or maybe he did so on purpose? He was extremely protective over his sister and his best friend fancying her could cause many a problem.

"The horror!" I said with a mighty fake gasp, returning to Will's social fears. "That's positively barbaric." A quick side step was needed to avoid his attempted blow at my shoulder.

"Must you always speak such nonsense Allen?" he said with great distain.

"Well it's better than listening to it," I quipped back, and was forced to avoid another blow. Well the idea was absurd! Me? Speak nonsense? My words are a joy to anyone who is fortunate enough to hear them.

Robin did his best to hide his amusement and keep our minds on the job. But one could see that he was trying no to laugh. "You know, we aren't going to get anywhere by turning on one another."

"Yes but it's such fun," I said, in full honesty.

"A joy if there ever was one," Will agreed. We did so enjoy hating each other.

Robin shook his head and continued on. To another empty room. And then another.

But finally, our ears heard the distant sound of Terrowyn's voice. There was a small pause between us as both Will and I sighed in despair and Robin was instantly eager for a fight. "Must we do this?" I said, begging one final time. "Does the term 'safety' mean anything to you?"

"Of course it does," Robin said, obviously in a fully proud state. "I love opportunities for safety. I love to wave at them as they fly by. Besides, we need to know what we're up against." I could have hit him.

"But I do so love the state of blissful unawareness," I said. And I really did. They say 'no news is good news' and I like to live by that statement.

"Come on Allen, stop your nagging." Robin said with a smile.

"Yes Allen stop your nagging," Will said with a smirk. And then his sword was in his hand, "let's get the bastard." Trust Will to give in at the prospect of a fight.

"Since when was this about 'getting' him?" I called after them. My words fell on deaf ears. I was forced to sigh and follow.

With a great flourish, Robin kicked the door in. Terrowyn of course, showed not even the slightest shred of shock but kept that calm state. Not the slightest trace of even a blink occurred. "Hood, you do so enjoy your entrances."

Two nearby servants were cowering however. I doubted that this had anything to do with us though. Anyone instructed to serve Terrowyn had the effect. The man could achieve terror without yelling a single word. He had other methods. "Go have a break," Robin told them kindly and then quickly snapped back to Terrowyn, the anger returned. "I think we have a few things to discuss."

The servants happily dropped what they were doing and ran. This brought our attention to what exactly that was. Packing. "Going somewhere?" Robin asked. "One would almost think you were running."

"Running my dear boy? Oh no. No no no no. I am simply entering the next phase of my plan." The words caused me to shudder. And plan from Terrowyn could not mean anything good for us. "One that shall occur a little closer to home. And not a moment too soon. I don't think I could stand another moment in this horrid excuse for a country."

"You're leaving?" I said, not attempting to mask the joy. England without the likes of Terrowyn would be a very happy country indeed.

"What makes you think I'll just let you leave?" Robin said, still angered. He hated how calm Terrowyn always was. Normally, Robin had an entirely different reaction from those he chose to threaten. And secretly, he loved that reaction. The fear they would show made his ego soar all the more and now it was being shot down. The whole thing obviously angered him.

"Oh Hood, enough with the act. I know you! This year has been brilliant for that. I feel that I have a rather deep understanding of you." Again, shudders. There was something that he wasn't telling us.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Robin said, with the slightest hint of a snarl.

"Nothing my dear boy. You really must control that temper of yours. Now put your sword away, you may hurt yourself."

"Not until you tell us more about this so called plan."

Terrowyn sighed. It almost looked as though he were talking to a particularly difficult child. "You will find out in due course Hood. You simply must learn patience."

Robin slowly placed his sword back in the hilt, appearing to give in slightly. But then his bow was raised and an arrow was suddenly sent shooting across the room. Quickly followed by another. Terrowyn quickly found himself pinned to the wall by two arrows piercing into his cloak.

Still, Terrowyn looked bored. "This was a nice cloak you know," he said as he pulled out an arrow. It took quite a bit of force. And as soon as one was free, Robin had sent out a substitute. "Hood you have plenty of time to learn of plans. Trust me, they would only bore you now. You have a lot to learn about politics. They will all make sense in due time."

"I don't want to wait!" Robin said, and quickly realised how childish he sounded. "Just tell me who you spoke with before. When I was chained up. Tell me who the traitor is!"

"You'll find out in the Holy Land," he said calmly.

The words were so calm. Yet that was the moment that our lives would be changed forever.

"The Holy Land?" I said in confusion.

"Why would we be in the Holy Land?" Will asked.

Robin said nothing.

Terrowyn jerked his head towards a chest of drawers. "I got you a leaving gift Hood. Top left draw."

Will was closest and he quickly ran over, pulling out a letter and handing it to Robin. "A letter?" Robin asked and tore it open. "So my present is a letter from King Richard?"

"Do you really like it?" Terrowyn joked. "I wanted to get you something really special."

"This is dated six months ago!" Robin said, suddenly angry.

"Well I didn't want you to leave until I was ready," Terrowyn said, once again in that eerie state of calm.

"Leave?" I asked. No one answered. Terrowyn just smirked. And Robin read.

I looked to Will, hoping to see my own confused panic reflected. But it wasn't. As much as he tried to hide it, I could see he was excited.

Robin still remained quiet, as he seemed to read it again.

'For goodness sake let me see!" I demanded, almost snatching it from Robin's hands. It wasn't hard. He didn't seem to have a good grip. I could have sworn that he was shaking slightly.

I don't remember the letter. Save for that one line. The words all blurred together. There was too much about deep plans and politics. None of that was important to me.

Just that one line.

'_It is true, England has great need for you. But others have even greater need. And so with that in mind, I beg of you. Join me. Help end this war.'_

"At any point in life, I would greatly appreciate someone telling me what is going on," Will said.

"I'm leaving," Terrowyn said happily, "And it seems, so are you."

I shoved the letter at him but he ignored it. "I can't read," he mumbled.

Terrowyn was all too happy too explain. "Well it seems that your beloved King is struggling in the Crusades. Not surprisingly. He is an Englishmen. And this war concerns none of you. Yet there he is. And we are going to kill him. Do everyone a favour. Of course, that was sent six months ago, which was a time of 'peace.' Well peace, by the Crusade standard. Now it's a tad worse, considering the hundreds of traitors I have sent over."

"That's easily fixed," I argued. "Someone can just explain what you did! Say, "you know what, everyone who was sent by Robin Hood was sent here on a lie. Please don't kill the King. The End. Thank you very much go back to your war now."

"You really do know nothing about war," Terrowyn said, amused. "Besides, there is so much more to it than those I have sent. Traitors are everywhere. You really think the only people I sent over are those fools? Please. They are nothing. I have gained allies from everywhere. Those who know the plans and have joined anyway and plan to help kill the King."

"Why would people kill King Richard?" I asked.

"To give Prince John the throne."

I still didn't get it. Neither did Will.

"Why are you even here?" he asked, "Why do you care who rules England?"

"I don't. I care about the Crusades. That is why this year has been hell for me. But it just so happens that the causes of Prince John and I overlap. And we have been able to help each other. He gets the throne and I will destroy the English armies from the Crusades."

I shook my head. "This is ridiculous. Who cares? Who cares about any of this?" It's some stupid war. And for what? It has nothing to do with England. Why would we leave?"

Finally Robin spoke. "To help end it. End the Crusades. Can't ask for a nobler cause."

Terrowyn scoffed. So did I. "The Crusades are never go to end. I don't care what King Richard says."

"Negotiations are in place," Robin said. "But the troops are at odds. The people trust me. King Richard wants me to lead them."

"He's the King! Why can't he lead them!"

Once again, Terrowyn scoffed. There was a great deal of malice. "King Richard, lead? Please. The man is many things., as much as I hate to admit it. He is a brilliant warrior. Brilliant with plans. But with people? He's useless! Honestly, you're better off with the current fool you have."

Will quickly had his sword at Terrowyn's throat. "Don't you dare insult King Richard in front of me," he said slowly, through gritted teeth.  
"Temper temper," he said, barley paying any notice. He only looked at Robin. "For goodness sake. Leave. Or don't leave. I'm rather torn up about it myself actually. For one, I do so love our encounters. You would make the battle slightly more entertaining. But then, King Richard is right to ask after you. I'm surprised that he hasn't done so sooner. You would be quite the asset Hood."

I knew nothing of politics. But I continued to plead to Robin. "We aren't meant for war! Fine, it is a bit of a mess right now. So maybe we do have to go help out a little. What if we quickly stopped in, sorted out the traitors who think you sent them and sail on home?"

"Oh Hood would never do that," Terrowyn said maliciously. "Not when he could help stop this whole war. Think of it. King Richard returning to England. Hundreds if not thousands of innocents returning home to their families. Peace once more."

"You think you know me,' Robin said. "But you know nothing."

"Actually, I know everything. And so do you. You know that England is lost. This endless cycle will only continue. You can continue to steal from the rich. Give to the poor. But it will only get worse. Prince John will soon be your King. The people will get poorer. And you will get so very tired. One day, you will slip. I will be something small probably. But you will die. With nothing to show for it. And then the people will be lost. I do know you Hood. You want peace. And you know that you can help make that happen."

"Why do you care?" Robin asked. He sounded odd, still showing no emotion.

"Oh I don't. But you have me pinned to a wall so it seemed polite to make conversation."

Robin walked forward to stand directly in front in Terrowyn. "If what you say is true, then we will soon both be in the Holy Lands. As enemies. Even more so than before. And you intend to kill the King. There is no so sense in letting you leave."

For the first time, Terrowyn showed a glimpse of fear. Robin had changed.

But obviously not enough, because all he did was pull back his arrows. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out," he said darkly. "Or do. Whichever."

Terrowyn stood, confused for a moment. Then he let out a small silent laugh. "You aren't ready for the Crusades. But don't worry. You will be. They will change you."

He stopped before leaving the room. "Race you there," he said with a dark smile. "And be ready. Things are going to be different. You can't even begin to imagine."

And then he was gone.

"Please say that you're not even considering this," I said.

But I knew the answer.

Robin Hood and the Merry Men were leaving Sherwood Forest.

For good.

I was right, no news would have been brilliant news.


	68. One Final Time

So this is it. The final record I have to write. Finally up to date with the present. And the present has never been more depressing.

Yet here I am, staring out to Sherwood forest, one final time.

One final look at the trees. Why I it that only now I see the beauty in the green shades. They seem so much sharper than before. And with so much more variety. I swear that I have never seen so many shades of green before.

The sludge underfoot is no longer irritating. It is the feeling of home. The puddles on the uneven terrain are the same. It seems that even the dirt now conveys beauty to me.

There is such a feeling of life. But at the same time, a feeling of complete isolation. I may be completely alone but somehow, it is almost as Sherwood is keeping me company. I always loved that feeling. Right now, I have never felt so completely grounded, whilst also feeling as high as the treetops.

Every pathway shows opportunities. Stories waiting to be told. Adventures waiting to be lead. I still can't believe that those opportunities, stories and adventures, will have nothing to do with me anymore.

The inspirational calm helped with my grievance. It was always impossible to feel depressed in this place. Although I still cannot look away from the footprints, scattered across the forest floor with the leaves. Those footprints could belong to anyone. And anyone could walk along here. The forest was there's now.

Even the wind suddenly showed beauty as I can practically hear its melody. It is almost as though if I close my eyes and concentrate, I can hear the reflection of past laughter. So many memories shall be left.

Will this feeling of absolute belonging travel with us to the Holy Land? A feeling of home?

Everyone else is running late it seems. So I suppose that I have time for one final entry.

Let's see, where did I leave off. Oh yes, that conversation with Terrowyn that lead to this madness.

That was a week ago but it certainly doesn't feel like it. Time really did fly by.

Well, we returned to camp as soon as we could to deliver the news. But then we were forced to wait. For the victory party was already in full swing. And only a true villain would interrupt such celebration with such news. So Robin, Will and I held our tongues.

People did suspect something. But most were too happy to take note of it all. We did our best to hide the news. It only worsened after Will slipped away and returned. Under the guise of being his normal anti-social self, he had ridden off, pretending to simply be fleeing. But he rode straight to the docks to enquire after times of the next ship.

When he returned, he pulled both Robin and I to the side and muttered, "one week."

"One week?" I asked in confusion and then the realisation came soaring. "Oh…" I said and said no more.

"Is there no later times?" Robin asked quietly.

"It's this or another six months."

"Brilliant!" I said happily, "six months it is."

"The King needed us six months ago," Robin said with little emotion. "And who knows how long the journey will take."

We all sighed. Me with exasperation. Will with excitement. And who knows what Robin was feeling. "So we're really doing this?" I mumbled.

"It seems so," Robin replied. He wasn't looking at me. It didn't take a genius to see where his gaze landed. He looked only to Marian.

Marian. The girl he had now spent two years winning over. The one he loved beyond all else. Only today, she had relented and agreed to with him again. Now this.

Apparently we weren't as subtle as we previously thought. Roger was the first to see through our guise. He approached Robin early on saying, "can I borrow you for a moment?"

Robin was cautious as he nodded and followed. I suspect that Roger didn't really want to hear the answer. He paused for so long before asking, "We're leaving aren't we?"

Robin replicated this pause before he too spoke. "Well…"

"I knew it!" Roger thankfully, reacted the same way I had. "How could you possibly think this a good idea? We're not warriors! We are outlaws. The Merry Men! What will England do without us? Not to sound stuck up or _blow our own horn _or whatever, but we are bloody important."

Cutting him off, Robin quickly said, "this is exactly why I want you to stay. And lead the Merry Men who stay behind."

Never before had Roger been so speechless. "You… what?" Never before had he also been so confused.

"Well you're right. We are important. And I would never leave Nottingham unprotected. And I can't think of anyone better to lead than you. You are always taking charge at the first sign of my 'deaths.' Oh don't deny it. Because you can cope under pressure when no one else can. You see the problems and instantly think of ways to fix them. And you care about the people of England. You can't fool me, don't even start to deny it. Yes, you lack some ability around fellow people but others can help you there. You will be a team. And a strong one. You will have to be with so few of you."

"What makes you think that so many people will go?"

Robin smiled as he looked out across camp. "I think a few of these men have the ability to surprise you."

And they really did. From the moment they heard the news, the entire gang surprised me.

Well not the entire gang. Much was as charmingly worried as always. "Yes well, I don't have a death wish so do you mind if I say no way?"

Robin smiled and added. "No one has to go who doesn't want to. In fact, it is preferable that quite a few of you stay, to keep things going here. Roger has already agreed to stay and lead. And he is going to be brilliant."

I think that was the first time I had ever seen Roger blush. And goodness the man turned red. He tried to cover it all up, back to that snarky humour. "So I suppose I'm stuck with you aye Much? Brilliant, I get the cream of the crop." There was a lot of sarcasm in these words. But it was obviously fake sarcasm to keep up appearances.

"Hang on," Much said. "It could have just been my surprise talking. What if there is a secret warrior in me just waiting to burst free!"

"A warrior who is scared of the smallest of spiders?" Roger said with a raised eyebrow."

"I'm not scared of spiders!" Much said indignantly to many a raised eyebrow. "Well I'm not saying that I would like to keep one as a pet. But I'm not scared alright?"

"Oh come on Much. We all know that you are far too much of a coward for the Holy Land," Roger said, and the words practically stung.

Much was silent for a time as we all waited desperately to see his reaction. Finally he spoke. "You really won't me to stay don't you Roger? Admit it. You like having around!" Roger's desperate denials were drowned out by the bear hug that he was forced to receive.

Obviously everyone else was not so happy. Robin addressed them all again. "No one has to decide anything immediately. Talk it over with your loved ones. But the ship is leaving in six days. So we need each and every one of the days to get all affairs in order. Make the decision that's best for yourself."

There was instant uproar. From Amelia. "You really think that you are all just waltzing out of here!" she yelled. The bravest amongst us shrunk back as the woman looked completely mad. "I cook for you. I clean for you. For two years! Do you really just see my as a servant. Because I am more than that. And you are more than just a bunch of smelly outlaws to me. So how do you think I feel when you just announce that you are leaving to a place of destruction and death?"

Robin tried to hide his terror. "Amelia, I'm sorry but-"

"Don't you start with me!" she yelled. "I have known you since you were a child. And you don't have the heart for war! You hate killing. And you don't have the mind for politics. Even Allen doesn't have the mind for politics and he is the smartest man I know."

I had never been so touched. "Really?" I said, almost choking up.

"Don't feel special!" she snapped at me. "Because apparently I'm surrounded by complete idiots!"

I sunk back down. "I suppose that's true."

"Fine!" she said, throwing up her arms. "Just go! Why wait the week? Just go now! Save us all some time!"

And she stormed away. A raging mess of fury.

"Well," John said quietly, "this is far from ideal."

Once the shock wore off, we all drifted apart, breaking into smaller groups to discuss our views.

Mark was the first I heard to have a clear answer. "Well I can't wait to go!" he said in delight. I suppose that everyone's looks of shock must have reflected my own. "Why are you all looking at me like I just killed five people?" Mark asked.

"Well forgive me for being the one to say it," Will told him, "but you aren't exactly one of the ones we thought would be overly excited at the prospect of going to war. I don't know. You seem like one of the ones we expected to lack the energy and be too afraid to leave the bar stool."

"Which is exactly why I'm going. You think that people like Thomas and I don't know what people think when they see the two of us? It's pretty easy. Not so much you lot but others. They think we're nothin' more than a waste of space. And we can't help anyone. Well you're wrong. I bloody well am going to accomplish something. So yes, I'm excited to go."

"Well count me in," Bryce said, that same excited tone present.

Martha cut him off, speaking to Thomas. "What did he mean by, 'the two of us?' You're not thinking of going are you?"

His silence was all the answer she required. "You? You want to go? To the Holy Land? You must be joking."

"Mark is right!" he said. "People have been looking down on me my whole life. You remember two years ago when I told you I was wasting my life away? Well nothing has changed since then. This is my chance to do something of value."

"Something of value?" she said with a mixture of disbelief and disgust. "As I told you then, being a Merry Man is the most honorable thing a person can be. And nothing's changed has it? You unbelievable bastard. Well I suppose that marrying me must be pretty low down of your priority list. So I suppose that you might as well go." She was quickly gathering her things. "I've wasted time coming here. The tavern needs business and me closing it early all the time shows."

Thomas remained where he was. Probably a mistake in the long run. Mark passed him a cup, filled to the brim with new wine. "Ah wine," Thomas said after a deep swig, "proof that God loves us and wants to see us happy."

Amelia walked past at the stage, but only to 'accidentally' knock into John and send him bowling over the ground. This was quite an achievement considering his size. "Serves you right," she muttered as she strode off.

John groaned as it took three of us to assist him up. "Notice how she didn't actually ask if I was leaving," he said.

Will looked a tad worried at the prospect. "But you aren't you? I mea, look at you. You're deadly without a weapon. The Holy Land sort of needs you."

John looked very sorrowful. "I know. And I know that I need to help."

"Very honorable John," Will said, very loudly. "Putting your own needs above others for the love of your country." This was clearly for the benefit of Roger who quickly walked away to pretend to be tinkering with stray weapons.

He wasn't getting away that easily. Will followed. Roger still played dumb, pretending to not already know his motives. "What are you doing here?" he asked innocently. "You should probably go see Lilly. She looks ready to murder you."

"Well I'm here because I asked everyone where I could find the most useless and annoying person possible. Much was busy so they sent me here."

"Useless? Annoying? Didn't you hear Robin? I am going to be great."

"About that," Will said. "What do you think you're doing?"

Roger continued to play oblivious. "Right now I think I am listening to you."

Will groaned at his friend's attempt at humour. "You know what I mean. What are you doing in the more general sense?"

"Wondering why I listen to you?" Roger quipped.

Will was done with the pointless talk. "You really think you can lead people? All you do is hate and insult them!"

"I don't insult people! I just describe them."

Will was only getting angry as Roger continued to avoid actually discussing anything. "You really want to be a leader so much that you would stay here? The Holy Land needs you!"

"No it doesn't. It needs blank faces to fight for a war that has nothing to do with us. This is England. It needs protecting. And I am going to do that. Excuse me!" And with that, Roger stormed off. But his words had the desired effect.

More and more people began to head off to see family and friends. "Another reason I can go!" Mark announced happily. "No romantic entanglements. That was why I did it you know. That's why I refused the many, many women there have been yearning for my heart. But I refused to settle down. Because I knew I had a greater calling. And because a rich and beautiful princess who worships me is still trying to find me."

"We always forget how truly romantic you are," Roger said sarcastically.

"Oh I really am," Mark replied, taking me seriously. "I am romantic up to a point where it is almost dangerous. I'm serious. Sometimes I am in real danger of falling in love with myself on account of my inner romantic."

"Then why is it that you have had no romantic feelings for anyone since you've joined us?" Roger asked.

"Not true! I have special feelings. Special feelings for my dinner. I shall miss it very much when we are gone."

We all should have thanked Mark. His humour was the only thing that got us through that week.

The next conversation I overheard was between Keighley and Greg as I heard her listing possible excuses he could use to avoid going.

"Pretend to break your leg," she listed.

"You really think people would believe that?" he asked, barley listening.

"Really break your leg!" she said with enthusiasm. "I would be all too happy to help."

"You really are mad sometimes," he said with a chuckle.

She finally noticed his lack of interest. "Wait, don't tell me that you want to go!"

He shrugged. "I'm always open to life experiences."

"Life experiences?" she asked indignantly. "Try death experiences. You will never survive. Do you know what war is like? It's not some romantic tale that you have glamorized in your head!"

"You're just jealous that you can't go," he said, though there was no truth in the statement.

"You know full well that women can't go to the Holy Land!" she said angrily. It was true. Thousands of bloodthirsty sex-starved men? Couldn't end well. "And even if I could go, I wouldn't. Because England needs me here."

Ben interrupted my eavesdropping. "Have you seen Robin? I want to confirm a few things."

"He's gone to see Marian," I told him. "Not sure when he'll be back. And I don't think he will be in the best mindset to be of any help right now. What were you after?'

"Just some information about the trip and what happens when we get there," Ben said, almost cheerily.

"You're actually excited," I said in disbelief.

"Well aren't you?"

I shook my head but he saw right through it. "Well then why are you going?"

That was the question I had feared. I shrugged. "Nothing better to do. Might as well. And Robin needs me! I'm the real mastermind. He's just a pretty face."

Ben raised an eyebrow. Seeing through the lies. "And I suppose war does sound a little intriguing," I finally admitted.

I was wrong with my guess. When Robin returned the next morning, he didn't look nearly as upset as I thought he would.

"How did she take it?" Michael asked nervously. He was wise to fear her wrath.

"Well…" Robin said, looking at the ground and trailing off.

"You didn't tell here did you?" Michael asked.

"No I did not," Robin admitted.

"Five days," Michael muttered.

"Well why don't you tell her then!" Robin said, angry.

Michael was wise enough to know that the anger had nothing to do with him. "You really think it would be best coming from me? Yes, we are best friends. But you. And her. Well you know what I mean."

Robin stormed off to the back of camp. And everyone was instantly glaring at me to follow. Grabbing a stray bottle of wine, I followed. There never seemed to be a shortage of this recently.

And then I found that I had nothing to say. "I have wine," I said, practically stuttering.

"I don't want wine," he said, hoping that his tone would encourage me to leave.

"Well good. Because it's not for you, it's for me."

"Well then why did you tell me about it," he grumbled, not impressed.

"I don't know. I thought it was a good opening line."

"That's ridiculous."

"Oh really? Well look how well it worked!" I finally managed to get the smallest of smiles. "So tell me," I said. "Why is it that you always run here when you are upset about Marian?"

He ignored me but finally said. "I don't want to leave her Allen."

"I know," I said softly. "But we both know that you have to. And you need all the time possible to say goodbye. So I suggest that you get moving."

"You know that I hate when you order me around," he said with an amused smile.

"Welcome to my life. You really think I enjoy you bossing me about? And you know what else I hate? You lying to my cousin. So get moving and stop stalling!"

It is so rare that my commands are followed. But thankfully he did. Sort of. He did manage to stall for the rest of the day under the guise of having important tasks to do which I suppose he did. But eventually we all bullied him into going.

Amelia didn't pick her words wisely. Everyone was already rather upset with her after that day as she had flat out refused to do any cooking or cleaning for anyone thinking of leaving. She claimed, "you had better get used to taking care of yourselves." So naturally we were all starved and were not happy about it. But anyway, back to her words. She saw Robin was leaving and let out a small laugh. "Good luck with that," she muttered. "My poor girl. She deserves better."

"For goodness sake!" he yelled, "you think that this isn't tearing me up inside? This whole thing is! None of us really want to leave. But we have to. It has nothing to do with wanting to leave anyone!"

She was wise enough to be silent and he turned and left.

He had that look on his face. The one I had seen only once before. Two years ago, when he was about to entre the Church to see her for the first time since becoming an outlaw. That look said a lot. It conveyed the terror that always occurred once you crossed her.

He had mastered the act of climbing to her window many years before. Most people would think it an impossible feat but he had been doing it since they were children. But the act seemed a lot harder on that night. But finally the balcony was in sight and he stood at the doors. He didn't enter straight away, but not because of aversion to the task. He just always lost his breath when he saw her.

It took her a while to notice he was there and he took her by surprise. But then that smile was there. The smile that she only gave to him. "How long have you been standing there?" she asked.

"Not long enough," he said. "Carry on. Pretend I'm not here." And then he couldn't resist the need to hold her any longer.

For one final moment, he enjoyed simply being with her.

And for one final moment, she was happy.

He ended by kissing her, knowing that this was the last time he could simply do it. For she would be furious.

And then the words had to be said. "Marian, I'm leaving."

She didn't understand. Or didn't want to. "Well go then? That was a bit of a wasted trip but alright. When will I see you again?"

He didn't know what to say. "Marian…" he finally said. "I'm going to the Holy Land."

She was quiet as the mulled these words. "Huh," she finally said, moving again. "I see. Well I guess that you had better leave then." And then she was off, unable to stop moving as she pretended to be interested in small tasks. Anything to avoid looking at him. She paused to laugh. But there was no happiness in the laugh. "You know, it's kind of funny. After all that talking you did about me not leaving. How I should stay and we should be together. So was that a joke then? Were you secretly laughing and thinking, 'how can I possibly get her to stay and then leave at the first chance I get?' Because now I'm stuck here." Slowly, her turn had turned from false amusement to anger and she couldn't resist the urge to hurt him any longer. He didn't try to stop her. He knew it was coming as she strode up to him and slapped him hard across the face. It hurt like hell and he caught her arm the second time. So she went for his chest, pounding her fists into it. He could feel the bruising already forming but it was still preferable to slapping. "Just get out!" she yelled, not caring her heard her. He was hesitant and she only got louder, "get out. And don't bother coming back. Just go! Before I call the guards"

There was nothing he could do as he walked back out of the balcony doors. She turned away, praying that he was in fact gone so he didn't see the tears spilling out. She tried desperately to control them and in the meantime, realised what she had said.

She quickly raced out to the balcony, leaning over, hoping to catch him before he went to far.

"I knew you'd come around," he said softly from where he stood to the left of the door.

And then she was in his arms, unable to stop the tears. If he hadn't have been holding her, her entire body would have given way. "Why do you always have to be the hero?" she said between sobs.

"Just lucky I guess," he said, still softly but he was joking by that point. He gained another bruise, though it was far weaker than the ones previous.

"You don't have to go you know," she said, not caring how desperate she sounded. "We could leave. Anywhere. Go somewhere we no one knows us. We could get married."

There was no more joking in him as every ounce of inner strength was used to stay strong. But she had his attention. He knew he had to stop her. Because any more talk like that and he would have given in. "You know that I have to go."

So it was set. Robin, Will, Little John, Mark, Thomas, Michael, Greg, Bryce and I would be leaving. Roger, Much and Keighley would remain.

So I'd say that both sides are doomed.

With three days until our departure, tensions were high. Amelia had completely changed tactics. Instead of her hostility, she was no showering everyone in affection. I suspect that she was sending a secret message of how cushy this life was and how we would miss it. And we would, making her actions all the worse.

Lilly was clearly in a panic from the way that she acted so calm. She just sat sit still, for almost the entire day, whittling away at some wood. The pile of scraps grew considerably throughout the week. Will eventually sunk down beside her. "Thank you," he said, "for not begging or crying or anything."

She never looked up from her whittling. "I'm used to losing family Will. I've learnt to cope."

"Really?" he asked.

Robin and I happened to be walking past at that point and she pointed to us, still not looking up. "Who is going to teach me to read now?"

She surprised us and we weren't sure how to respond. There was the slightest hint of anger as she continued, "you two promised to teach me how to read. And we've been doing great. But now who is going to help me?"

"Uh," I stuttered. "I'm not sure. Marian maybe?"

She scoffed. "You really think she will come around here when you're all gone?"

"She will be fine," Robin said confidently, though he was probably assuring himself at the same time.

Will was extremely confused. "Lilly, there are bigger issues here than your reading skills. I was hoping for a response. Anything? I don't know, like how you'll miss me? How you're sad that I'm leaving?"

"You can't control how people act because you think you are the most important thing. Leave me be William! I will act however I wish."

Her coldness startled him but he was not ready to go just yet. "For so long I thought of nothing but revenge. I just wanted the Sheriff to pay for what he did to our family. But finally I woke up and saw how that wasn't the best way to honor Father. The best way is to live the life he would have wanted us to live. And this is it." He did walk away then, with Robin and I quickly following. There was still so much planning to do.

Then there was just two days until we left. Acceptance was widespread but it was beginning to appear.

There was still so much to prepare and set so we spent little time at camp.

We returned late at night to see a strange sight. Someone had decorated camp. And not just decorated. It was a step further than that. Candles were placed along every tree branch which illuminated the rose petals scattered across almost every spare surface.

All eyes went to Amelia, who shook her head indignantly. We still refused to believe that anyone else could be so sentimental. "Well maybe I got a big carried away," she huffed, "but it wasn't my idea!"

She pointed and all eyes went to Martha, who looked completely beautiful and radiant. Thomas stepped forward, ignoring the rather strange situation and seeing only her.

"I know that you have to leave. And I suppose that I have to accept that," she said. "And since I am doing that for you, you can do something for me. So you are going to marry me. Right now."

"Yes Ma'am," he said with surprise. But happy surprise.

She too was surprised. "I was expecting more of a debate," she said sheepishly.

"Why on earth would we need to debate this?" he said, wrapping his arms around her. "I want nothing more than to marry you. But you need to be prepared. I may, well, not be able to come back from the Holy Land."

"Then I want to spend our last few days together as man as wife, don't you?"

And then Amelia began a stream of orders, setting everyone up for the perfect ceremony. She was definitely in her element.

So many people were attendance. Many that I didn't know. Regulars from the tavern I suppose. They all obviously knew Martha and Thomas. Mark was also a legend amongst them. He obviously liked to think himself their King. He was the first to embrace the happy couple, right after the announcement of the ceremony was decided. "Oh you two!" he said, over-emotional. I should have known this would happen! And to think, I was there, matchmaking."

"You did no such thing," Thomas said, eyes never leave his bride to be.

"I did to-" Mark tried to say but Martha playfully pushed him away, also unable to look away from Thomas. Getting the idea of not being wanted, Mark returned to his people, calling out, "I should have known this would happen! I was the matchmaker you know!"

Adelaide was amongst the guests, much to Michael's dismay. "So you're leaving," she said, and was quickly shushed by several Merry Men. In a whisper, she continued, "when were you going to tell me? Were you going to tell me at all? Or were you just going to run off and leave me with your son again?"

"Do you want to know my big life achievement? Go on, ask me! Well last month I meowed at a stray cat and it meowed back. So aside from my secret skill of speaking cat, I haven't exactly achieved much have I? I want to something of use. And yes I know what you're going to say, I have achieved Ethan here. And trust me, it's better I go. I can't ruin his life from afar can I?"

"You really think you would ruin his life?"

Michael was saved answering by Amelia, dragging them both to their place. "You two can sort your issues of love after the service. Now get in line and smile." And then her new targets were in place and she ignored their protests about her 'love' comment.

"Much are you seriously crying?" Roger said, groaning at the notion.

Much shook his head furiously but the deed was done. "Weddings make me happy alright? Leave me alone!"

Bryce groaned as well. "I hate weddings. I hope this is short."

Amelia appeared out of nowhere to hit him on the back of the head and move on.

"Ignore the grump!" Much called after her, "he's just jealous because our other brother is getting married before him!"

"Is Brom getting married?" Lilly asked with a gasp of excitement.

"Why do all females get so excited over weddings?" Ben asked, confused.

"Yes he is," Much said happily. "And since Brom is younger than Bryce, he is feeling all insignificant because he hasn't found anyone yet."

"Will you shut it?" Bryce said, obviously angry. "I don't give a damn about Brom. Or Gavin either for that matter. Just because they're married with money and businesses and whatever else they want. I'm a Merry Man!"

"Which isn't enough any more is it?" I asked, finally understanding. "And Much was a Merry man first, so you want to win at something. And you think that you can win by going to the Holy Land."

Much let out an odd gasp. "Is that why you're going?"

"No!" Bryce said indignantly. But it was obviously true.

Friar Tuck finally ran through the entrance, puffing. "Next time you plan an impromptu wedding, can I have a little more notice?"

"Thanks Tuck," Martha said happily and all of his exhaustion was gone. For nothing is more beautiful than a bride on her wedding day.

Marian quickly pulled her to the side to braid a few flowers through her hair. "Not that you need them," she said with a smile.

They quickly hugged, already beginning to bonded through what was just a few days away. "Who knows," Martha said as she gestured around her, "you could be next."

Marian's smile faltered a little. "Robin has already made it clear that he doesn't want that."

This was the wrong time to be taking a sip of wine as I choked with laughter. "Sure," I said sarcastically. "Because Robin hates the idea of marrying you!"

Martha held both of Marian's hands. "He is just giving you the freedom to move on with your life. It doesn't mean he doesn't love you."

"Talking about me?" Robin said, leaning off to the side with that cheeky grin.

Martha patted Marian's shoulder, "I should get in place."

"How much did you hear?" Marian asked nervously.

"Not enough," he said with a smile. But then he was quickly serious. "Marian, you know that I want nothing more than to marry you." She nodded, blinking back tears. "But it's just not practical," he said sadly. "I know that we are avoiding the subject, but you are a noble. One day, you are going to have to get married. And I just can't complicate that for you."

She laughed, wiping away a stray tear. "I think it's a little late for that."

"Places everyone! Come on!" Amelia was calling, running about. "Pla-" She cut off mid-word when she saw them. Her volume quickly changed. "Places when you're ready," she said sweetly.

"We should go," Robin said gently and they walked to their place. He held her hand all the while and she held on just as tightly.

I'm glad that this will be my last memory of Sherwood forest. Everyone so happy. Amelia sunk down in exhaustion and did not protest when John wanted to have his arms around her. Lilly came to stand beside Will, and even gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry about the wedding comment," Much muttered to Bryce.

"Shut up," Bruce said quietly, but he was smiling. And then Much was crying again at the beauty of the wedding. Roger rolled his eyes but even he was smiling. Keighley had forgiven Greg as they happily stood side by side. Mark had many drinks ready for what can I only imagine was the great number of toasts he would be making that night. Michael held his son, less gingerly than before. Ben still pulled faces of disgust as all of the sappy talk going on. He pretends to have grown up but his young age is still apparent at times like these. Even Pete came. He didn't smile. But just the fact that he came was a huge stepping stone. Oliver was running about in complete delight and took great pleasure in handing his new Stepfather a ring to give to his Mother. Robin held Marian's hand the entire time. And me? I may or may not have also teared up at the words, "I do."

The party lasted all night. I don't exactly remember most of it, if you catch my drift. The tavern regulars eventually crawled off to whatever it is they do during the days but everyone else remained around camp.

And so began our final day in Sherwood Forest. But there was no talk of leaving. Everyone just carried about as if it were a normal day. I suppose that we were all enjoying each other's company one final time.

And suddenly here I am. At the very edge of Sherwood. If I turn around, I can see the docks. I have a small pack by my standards. But apparently I am still a horrible hoarder. But what trouble is it for me to have a few books in the Holy Land? We aren't going to be fighting the whole time are we? What harm is there in my studying a little before my probable death?

Anyway, I was first here. Everyone had final goodbyes to say.

And now people are coming. I can hear them. So I suppose I had better wrap this up. My plan is to give all of these recounts to Tuck. He will look after them until someone else worthy can carry them on.

I'm not worried about England. There are some fine people staying to look after everything. And around every corner, there is a possible hero. I mean, looking at me, three years ago, no one would ever think it possible that I would do the things I have accomplished.

So let's see how things go.

Wish me luck.

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_Well Allen has done well. I must take credit. I taught him everything he knows. Although his spelling could still use a little work._

_ He looked very brave as he boarded the boat. I was granted a final embrace. I suppose we resolved our issues in the end. He always complained that I never challenged him enough in the lessons of his childhood. He always had a problem of thinking his skill superior to what they actually were. _

_ Lilly and Amelia packed enough food to feed the entire army. Even Pete showed the smallest hint of emotion. _

_ And then the farewells began. Old friends. New friends. Even folk who barley knew each other were embracing. That man, Mark I think his name was, made quite the scene with me. One would think we were tragic lovers from the way he held me and begged that I would pray for his soul. _

_ Finally, everyone seemed ready to board._

_ Lilly stopped them all and began to hand little leather bands to tie around everyone's wrists. Most of them recognised the material and thought it hilarious that someone had stolen one the Sheriff's favourite belts. I was even granted one. Quite an honor. Some took quite some convincing. But after being assured that they were 'bands' and not 'bracelets,' the likes of Will and Roger finally agreed to wear them._

_ I thought it a splendid idea. Now everyone in the Holy Land will know exactly who the Merry Men are. And know to fear them. _

_ Even Luke came and quietly wished the gang luck. Such a shame, the way that young man turned out. But there is goodness within him. I can see it. And there is goodness is everyone. When he is ready to reconcile, the Lord shall embrace him. _

_ What was most shocking was how Annie came. She left her estates and her new husband to return. I suspect that this was mainly for Marian's benefit. Annie does have her good points you know. She didn't have a nice word to say to the outlaws, other than informing that they would probably die quickly. But I feel that she was holding many a cruel word so really, she did rather well. _

_ I fear that the men have already made a bad impression of their future fellow soldiers. For their farewells continued very late. I dare say that they held up the entire boat. _

_ But slowly they trickled aboard. _

_ Robin was last of course, finally managing to let go of Marian. They didn't need any words._

_ Allen and Will were also late. I overheard Allen complaining, as per usual. "Three years of being one of England's greatest outlaws and no romance to show for it? Seems about right."_

_ Will was laughing at the other man as he responded. "To make you feel better, you were never one of the greatest."_

_ "Of course I was! You have to admit it," was the response._

_ "Fancy a wager then?" First one to die in the Holy Land loses."_

_ "Bring it on."_

_ And then they were gone._

_ Much was quite the ray of sunshine. "So how doomed are we?" he said whilst everyone cried._

_ Roger looked like he was trying as hard as he could to think of a decent response. But he could not. _

_ So I was forced to take charge. "You are the Merry Men. Your enemies are the ones who are doomed."_

_ And I am confident in those words._

_ As Allen said, "Around every corner, there is a possible hero."_


	69. Best of Luck

Allen here! Did you really think I would abandon you?

Well I should really. I have not time to write letters. Plus I have nowhere to send them. I will try find to find a way of ensuring that they safely reach Tuck but you never know where mail ends up. And it will probably take a good few years. But once again, you never know!

Anyway, back to my life at sea!

The Sea air. The wind in my face. The rocking of the ship.

I hate it.

By the end of day one I was ready to get off. The trouble with this was that we were in the middle of the ocean. Not literally of course. We were barely a fraction of the way there. Days blurred. Weeks blurred. Dare I say months blurred. I legitamently didn't know and was scared to ask how long we had been on that god forsaken ship.

The main problem amongst the gang was seasickness. It hit me the hardest with John closely in second place. No one was safe from it. There were some good days but these were dramatically over-ruled by the bad.

Then there are the emotions. Everyone misses their loved ones back in England and have taking out their anger on everyone else. Much is no longer around to take the brunt if it so it was interesting to see who they began to pick on.

Will all to happily took his anger out on me. I didn't mind because this meant I got to take mine out on him. Of course I pretended to care. It was more fun that way.

"I am aware that you miss your beloved Roger in your cute if not disturbing relationship but is it truly necessary to take it out on me?" I complained and quickly dodged his blow. "Everyone had better get used to all the man jokes," I continued. "There wont be any women where we're going."

At this thought, Thomas stared wistfully out to sea, strangely being the one who was the most homesick.

Needless to say, life is boring. We have gone from daring weekly adventures to sitting round watching waves. I barely see the gang anymore. The ship is small and no one had a lot of space for milling around and visiting friends. Some took to the daily gambling that was one of the only forms of entertainment around. Men would wager part of their provisions on things like who would be sea sick first in the morning or what we would be eating for dinner. This was a pretty safe bet, there wasn't much choice. I quickly learnt to appreciate Amelia and Lilly's work and missed them even more for it.

"Group meeting," I yelled one day, ignoring all the funny looks I received and realized that no gang members were around. "Let's split up an look for members," I mumbled to myself, trying to imitate something Robin would have said back when we were a gang.

It was amazing how many gang members were around the gambling areas. I walked on Ben being lifted on the others men's shoulders, apparently being worshipped as a gambling God.

"It's sad isn't it," John complained to me as I tried to gain Ben's attention. "I lost my rations for a week to him. Who would have thought?"

"Is your annoyance really about that?" Thomas asked, or is it about the fact that when he enters the gambling area, people look scared. He is instantly respected. Kind of like how you used to be in England." Will tried to hold in laughter at this, knowing that John could still hurt him.

John glared at both men but the constant seasickness had taken the fight right out of him.

"Gang meeting on deck, right now," I said quickly, hoping to avoid the fight that could break up the possible fight. "Some one pull him away," I said as I flicked my head towards Ben.

"With pleasure," John said, all too happy to knock him off his perch.

Michael was with the musicians. They were a minority on the ship but they made up for it with all the noise they made. Still, at least Michael had apparently found his true people. For once he was not yelled at for playing too late into the night, too early in the morning or just generally being too loud. The Captain had banished them below deck long ago which I saw now may have been a mistake. Their area was one of the few genuinely happy areas over all the ship. People used whatever they could as instruments and had some rather original variations. Any who wanted to was invited to play, dance or sing and everyone was enjoying it. I felt a bit bad for dragging Michael away from his party.

"Are you keen to attend a gang meeting for old times sake?"

"Thank goodness," he said, eagerly dropping his lyre and following me. To my look of confusion he explained "I liked being around you lot because I liked feeling like the best. Being one of the crowd is boring. It's not as exciting when I'm not original."

"You can never be pleased. Do you know where I can find Greg, Bryce or Mark?"

"Greg and Bryce are what we like to call Brooders. They have nothing to do so they just hover in their cabins staring at the celling and reflecting on their depressing lives."

"Bryce used to be so sociable," I said in surprise. "And what about Mark?"

"Mark, surprisingly, is always around the really dedicated fighters who are planning tactics."

"This ship brings out the strangest of things," I said as we both contemplated the change. "I'll find him if you find Greg and Bryce."

Robin was on deck, at the bow. That was where the gang figured out where to meet. It was then that I realized that I actually had nothing to say.

"You're probably all wondering why I brought you all here," I stalled "myself included. I guess I just miss you guys, save Will." Will glared at me but I continued. "We don't know what will happen when we get to the Holy Land and who will make it out so in the meantime we should be sticking together, not drifting apart. What would Levon say?" I shushed the newer members who were after Levon's time. "He always preached that we have to make time for our friends, even when there was none. So what do you all say to no more boredom and causing some good old fashioned outlaw mischief?"

Everyone considered for a moment. Then they all mumbled excuses, all worriedly looking around them for the First Mate. He was the kind of man who was in the same terrifying league as the Sheriff. His main threat was telling everyone how he was eager to throw any trouble makers overboard. "Ok no mischief," I agreed.

Still I wondered, exactly what would happen when we reached the Holy Land. Things were going to be different. Who would make it through? Would I even know if the others made it through or would we lose contact, in the same way we had even while on the same ship? Were we still a gang? Or were we just new recruits, sailing to our deaths?

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To say we were excited when we saw land was an understatement. Most of us were running round deck, singing the praises of getting off the damned ship.

Those who weren't singing, were still running around, many were embracing others. In light of the situation I even hugged Will. I came to my senses pretty quickly and we both leapt apart.

For months we had seen nothing but long stretches of water and for months we had wished for a new view. I could see our new view was going to annoy me just as much. Endless stretches of water were replaced by endless stretches of sand. And at least water splashed you and dried. In no time at all I had sand everywhere and knew that it would be a mission to get off.

As for the heat, it was hell. Along with the early arrival of the sand came the early arrival of the burning. Thomas had always been the palest of the Merry Men and even before we unboarded, I could see how pink his skin was turning. I knew that it wouldn't be long until that pink, turned red. Thomas wasn't the only one sporting these pink marks either but there was nothing that anyone could do. There was no shade and putting on extra clothes was not an option in the intolerable heat.

The entire group was greeted by a representative from King Richard who was supposed to take us to a camp. There apparently we would be sorted according to skill to our new area. I didn't like this.

"We're starting at the bottom?" I whispered angrily to Robin. "We were England's greatest heroes, I figured that if that was good for anything it would be skipping initiation." Robin shushed me but looked annoyed too. His pride may have improved slightly over the past few years but he still liked to think of himself as the best. Right now we were all just part of the crowd.

"I don't think that anyone in the Hold Land has even heard of the Merry Men," Ben whispered.

"Well we'll have to show them won't we?" Robin said.

The man continued to ramble about safety procedures and the new rules to abide when he was interrupted. Shielding our eyes from the sun, we could see horses approaching at an incredible speed. This was not simple people out for a joy ride. There must have been at least one hundred of them. The darkness of their skin could mean only one thing. We were going to meet Saracens for the first time.

The man in charge of us began shouting commands but everyone was unsure over what to do.

"At least we outnumber them," Greg said, but it was more of a question than a statement.

"In numbers maybe," John told him "but at lot of these men have probably never fought before."

In England, the most we had ever fought at a time would be no more than fifty. And that number was made us of bumbling idiotic guards.

These were trained assassins, meant to take out the new English recruits before they could help King Richard's cause.

"Well at least they haven't heard of the merry men either," Bryce said as he eagerly drew his sword. "Let's show them."

There was blood.

A lot of it.

That was the main difference from England. We had always fought to escape, but never to kill.

It was clear that it was kill or be killed now.

The first Saracens reached us and instantly slashed the unfortunate men who were in front. Their blood sputtered into the men behind them but they didn't have time to dwell on this as they were stabbed second. Many of the new recruits fought to get to the back. Robin and the rest of us let them past and ran to meet the enemy. Robin got there first and leapt at one of them. On any plain guard this would have been enough. This man was ready and ducked. Without giving Robin time to recover he quickly slashed back at him.

I didn't have time to keep watching Robin. Two of the Saracens were running towards me. The look in their eyes made me want to run but I knew this would be the defining moment. The moment when I decided what kind of man I was going to be in this crazy new place. I wanted to be a hero.

So I evaded the attacks of one man while desperately trying to fight the other. Thankfully he didn't dodge all of my attacks and I slashed him enough so he dropped down to the sand. The other man was still attacking but I saw my opportunity. In a split second when he was unguarded, I slammed my sword hard into his side. His eyes were wide in shock and pain. I didn't notice anything around me. I only saw this man, the one I was killing. Slowly he became limp and fell.

I had already changed. My other attacker was trying to stop the blood from his cut. I ran my sword through him too.

The battle raged on. I saw men do things I never thought they were capable of doing. Greg, who was always one of the really nice ones, faked a left attack, quickly turned and took great joy in cutting off the mans right hand. He didn't kill him though, making me believe that there was a shred of humanity still in him. The man fell down, nursing his stump. It was Michael who wouldn't show mercy and ran him through. He wore the same look I imagined that I was wearing. The face of trying to stay calm while inwardly trying to convince ourselves that we weren't heartless killers.

The aftermath was the worst. The pained silence after the chaotic roar was almost deafening. The stench of blood was thick in the air. Bodies were strewn everywhere.

We won. I think.

It seemed that we had just as much death on our side as they did. What saved us was our numbers that we had in the beginning.

Quickly coming to my senses, I checked around to make sure all of the men had made it. Everyone was quickly accounted for and seemed fine. Robin had a lot of blood on him but I prayed that most of it wasn't his. Michael remained by the man he had killed, still trying to come to terms with what he had done. Mark was in the middle of the battle scene, helping the man in charge count the dead. Everyone else seemed to be milling around one area. This wasn't right. Their expressions weren't right either. I head counted again. Only one of our men was missing. Running forward I saw him. Lying in the middle of the men.

Ben was dead.

It wasn't a pretty death either. He was barley recognizable. But it was definitely him.

He was one of the foolish ones who had been actually looking forward to coming to the Holy Land. Either that or he was trying to appear tough again.

Whatever the reason, it still made it unfair that he was the first to die.

"I thought it would be you," Will said to me, only half joking.

Ben was one of the best men I knew. He deserved more then the mass funeral we were forced to give him. Everyone is entitled to proper funeral rites and we didn't have time for over one hundred funerals.

Needless to say, our group of recruits had dramatically shrunk. Still, we headed on to the promised camp. The happy and excited tone was long gone.

Please spread the word. Ben died a hero.

Our little Benny.

But you needn't worry. The rest of us are safe. For now at least.

Anyway, how are things in England? I realise that you can't possibly send a reply of course. But it seems polite to ask. I trust that everyone is desperate and lost without us. Well I hope not. I trust you Tuck. We all do.

So do us proud.

I wish you all luck.

And I will keep you posted as much as I can.


	70. A New Year and a New Hero

_Nottingham has grown silent. Months on end dragged past. Bloody boring ones at that._

_ I had seen excitement. Outlaws used to run free through the town. I had seen them with my own eyes. They were long gone. Bastards._

_ Streets were often abandoned. The ere of aged ruckuses seem as if they often remain. There was a common expression of defeat on everyone you walked past and frankly, it grew rather depressing._

_ Personally I had always seen myself as a people pleaser. Due to that, I like to think that my actions came from a wish to entertain._

_ This is how I could be seen running through these silent streets. Running for my life._

_ All for a loaf of bread. A measly loaf of bread. Yet this bread could have saved my starving mother. Thanks a lot society. _

_ Meanwhile people were greatly enjoying the entertainment I was providing. Saxons would forever praise anything that broke from this new and boring sense of normality. Children raced to the side of the road to cheer me as I ran past. Adults had a little more dignity but I could see their excitement despite their acts of trying to hide it._

_ Turning a sharp a corner I felt the hard collision, which could only be made from the metal of a guard uniform. Luckily I had quite a hard skull and managed to regain my balance. Falling to the ground would have cost me._

_ It didn't even occur to me to be worried. This could have been from a severe amount of courage or the more likely fact of how bumbling and oaf-like guards tended to be. This one appeared to barley fit into his uniform and was puffing hard from the small amount of running I had caused him._

_ "So I'm guessing from the redness of your face that you don't run often," I said as he paused to regain breath, "and I am also guessing that by the look on your face you are not happy about said running. All of this is not looking good for me is it?" I asked, trying to be cheerful._

_ He glared at me and finally drew his sword. All the while more and more guards were approaching and I was blocked in._

_ "Gentlemen please," I said, raising my hands in surrender. Once again I looked to my loot. I still had the loaf clasped in my hand as I ran. I could feel the mould. "All of this running for this pathetic thing?" I said as I held up the offending object. My stalling worked as they all stopped drawing their swords as they watched me, all very confused._

_ So I wandered up to my original guard friend. "Would you eat this?" I shoved the loaf right under his nose so he could inspect it._

_ He didn't seem impressed. I hoped that the bread was the true cause. "So you know, I was really doing Nottingham a favour. Imagine the poor family that strived for months to buy this for their children. Imagine how disappointed they would be."_

_ My stalling tactic ceased to work and they brutally grabbed me by the scruff of my collar and dragged me back to the main square. The main square was never a good thing. I looked to my left and saw the gallows. There was a noose._

_I was not scared, as many would be. I was more concerned with the bleeding lip I had gained and the rather disgusting taste it put in my mouth. Being the son of a baker, I did have some standards. Blood was not in my top five favourite things to eat._

_ I finally focused back to the Sheriff. I didn't know a lot about this one. I had encountered many a Sheriff in my time but most had a shred of fairness someone inside of them. It was obvious that there was nothing fair about him as he stroked his beard, obviously hinting something quite unfavorable._

_ "Well well well," he said, as he looked me up and down. "What do we have here?"_

_ "Common thief milord," the first guard told him._

_ "Darling how could you betray me like this?" I demanded with false anguish._

_ The Sheriff seemed amused by the whole situation. "We appear to have a jester amongst us," he said, now addressing the people. My replay had gained a few titters around the spectators and now they all quickly tried to wipe smiles from their faces._

_ "Jester is such a common term," I corrected. "I prefer Esteemed Lord of all things amusing."_

_ The crowd held in chuckles. It wasn't that my jokes were funny. The mere fact of how I stood up to the Sheriff was the true cause of the amusement. _

_ The Sheriff however, didn't find my words amusing. Instead he gestured for a whip, held by the nearest guard. "I'll show you what funny is," he said to me and ordered for my vest and shirt to be removed._

_ I thanked the good Lord that I had been blessed with stomach muscles. Despite the situation I still found the time to raised my eyebrows suggestively at some of the prettier women towards the front. I would never let my good looks go to waste, even in the face of impending torture and death._

_ "It's time that the people of England learnt what true humour is," the Sheriff said to the crowd. "So let me instruct you. Troublemakers are not in the slightest bit amusing." With these words he took me by the ear and twisted as hard as he could. I had always had a low tolerance for pain and tried to keep my face un-contorted. "People who oppose our good King John, are not at all funny." With these words he gave me a hard shove on the back that sent me toppling forward. I landed hard on the shark stones and could see blood trickling from my hands._

_ The Sheriff grew bored and gestured for the guards to pull me onto the podium of the gallows. "I'll tell you what is funny; justice. This man, Henry of Nottingham, thinks that he is above the law. He thinks that normal rules don't apply to him."_

_ All the while he couldn't figure out why people were laughing. He never stopped to see that I was mocking him as he spoke and mouthing along his extremely clichéd speech with my own interpretation of his facial expressions._

_ "So what to sentence him too?" the Sheriff wondered as he played with the whip in his hands, all the while looking longingly at the noose. "So many choices," he whispered to me._

_ "May I make a suggestion about your decision?" I asked, getting a little anxious._

_ He looked smug at the idea of my begging. "By all means," he responded._

_ Debate arises. Was I extremely clever? Or extremely lucky? I think both of these were wrong. I think the Sheriff is simply stupid._

_ I pointed off into the distance, placed a look of awe and fear on my face and yelled, "Look a dragon!"_

_ I shouldn't have been surprised when they all turned to look. England is clearly being ruled by the most idiotic set of people possible._

_ As much as I wanted to stay and laugh at their stupidity, I took advantage of the situation I had made for myself and ran._

_All of my encounters with the law had taught me one thing. To run. This time I knew my Father wouldn't pick up the pieces and I really didn't want him too. One last look at my parents made it obvious that they would be better off without me. There would be no simple relocating this time. Besides, they were happy here. It wasn't fair that they constantly had to change their lives for me. _

_ I was not meant to live in societies boring walls. I was meant to just live._

_ There was mutterings from the townsfolk as I ran past but not the normal ones of dishonor and supposed shame. These were of approval. I even heard the occasional person dare to dream that I could be the next Robin Hood. Once again I wanted to laugh but didn't have the time. If there were not guards chasing me, I would have happily told the people that I was not a naive freedom fighter who would fight for justice. I was merely a man who longed to live how he wanted and when he wanted. Sure, I could devote my life to the foolish cause. But than again, I am not an idiot. People nowadays would cling hope onto anything. _

_ There were some crueler villagers of course. George a Greene was running amongst the people taking bets on how long I would last. You could tell when this man was excited as his dark sandy hair would fluff up from the wind as he ran, giving him a mad appearance. Yet people knew that he was perfectly sane and many gambled on my life. I would have been insulted but later I heard the suggestions and was rather flattered._

_ David of Doncastor was not one of the kinder gamblers. Most of the villagers feared him but George would often forget this fear in the heat of excitement. He went charging up to the blacksmith saying "Oi Dave, fancy a wager?"_

_ George finally came to his senses and calmed down a little. After all, David had many a strong and hot weapon of a blacksmith that could easily be used around the room. George looked anywhere but at David's ears which thankfully his tasseled long brown hair was covering. Or rather, his lack of ears. He had long ago had his ears cut off by the Sheriff for being unable to pay taxes. _

_ "Why would I waste my time?" David said in his emotionless tone. "The man will be gone in a matter of days._

_ "Ok I have you down for three days," George said quickly and ran away, knowing where he was not wanted._

_ Raewyn laughed at her brother's words but clearly agreed. "That is just what England needs," she said "another man who thinks he can save the day. I bet I could best him easily._

_ "You could pass for a man," David said cruelly but she took it as a compliment. She hated signs of femininity and chose to wear her hair short and dress in mens clothes. She often preached on the supposed dominance of female superiority of which no one paid attention too, even women themselves._

_ Even though I was being chased by guards, I still decided to run through the darker part of Nottingham on my way out and say a quick farewell to my special girls. Sadly there was no time for my usual stop and proper visit. Most of the time I didn't even require money thanks to my looks._

_ I ran past in a haze but still set them all talking._

_ "You all just wait," Olivia said as she fluffed up her hair "that man will need a bit of company when he starts them good deeds. And who am I to refuse such a 'handsome gentleman."_

_ The others just rolled their eyes at her cockiness. "What makes you think he'll pick you?" Mary snorted._

_ Olivia examined herself in their dirty mirror. "Well he certainly wasn't complaining a few weeks ago."_

_ Cecily ignored all of the cackling of the surrounding whores. She didn't care about anything like that. She just hoped that I would help people. Surveying her surroundings, she once again wondered how she had ended up there. She knew that the years were getting along and most of the women around her were a lot younger. Few women in her profession remained successful after reaching thirty and she worried for that upcoming event. She then knew that was jealous of me. She too, wanted to be free._

_ I noticed none of these side events. I just kept on running for my life._

_ The gates were my ultimatum._

_ Return and beg forgiveness. Or live free._

_ Without thinking twice, I ran out of those gates._

_ What I didn't realise was exactly who was watching me. _

_ And how he would change my life._

_ What to do next turned out to be a problem. I was an outlaw with no skill. I would need food and shelter but where and for how long. If I was so like Robin Hood, it seemed only fit that I follow his example and head for Sherwood Forest. Most people know it for its great views, romantic sceneries and of course, the fact that it is crawling with outlaws. I had no weapon to speak of and was checking behind my shoulder every few steps._

_ Then it began to rain. It was a sign._

_ I was doomed._

_ It turned out that being an outlaw was not as much fun as I originally thought. There were countless decently sized tree branches everywhere that I could have used to form a staff but it turned out that my arms weren't as strong as I originally thought and I couldn't carry one for very long. In a fight I wouldn't have been able to even lift it high enough to cause even minor damage. So it seemed rather unwise. One of Robin Hood's men was known to carry a quarter staff at all times. Little John I think. He was supposed to be a giant of a man. He must have been to lug around that bloody staff._

_ So I gave up on weapons. Instead I tried to hunt. It seemed foolish without weapons. I saw a rabbit in a nearby clearing and instantly froze. Only my eyes moved as I watched its every move. Yet I realised the problem when I looked down to my hands and saw no weapon._

_ I thought I would taste victory upon my genius idea of a stick and the action of beating the thing to death. Then common sense took away my dream upon the thought of how fast rabbits move._

_ So I sat and brainstormed. The rabbit meanwhile happily hopped around the clearing, unaware of the idiot trying to think of ways to eat it._

_ Eventually I just gazed at it and willed it to die. I even used my hands on the off chance that I was a witch and no one had bothered to tell me. I would take the Churches damnation if it meant that my newfound powers could get me some dinner._

_ Suddenly a hawk swooped down from the sky and snatch the rabbit away in its beak._

_ I looked down at my hands. "I love irony," I murmured to myself. "I swear to use my new found powers for the good of myself."_

_ But unfortunately nothing else that I willed to die obliged. Not even any other hunting animals benefited from my powers._

_ So I suppose it was safe to say that day one of being an outlaw had been a complete success…_

_Meanwhile in Nottingham castle, the Sheriff had just seen my first wanted poster. I personally think that the artists had done a good job conveying my likeness._

_ The Sheriff just glared at it and stabbed his dagger into one of my eyes._

_ "I am a tired man," he said to the quivering guard. "I fought Hood for a good three years and I think that I am entitled to a break. Don't you?"_

_ The scared man couldn't muster more than a slight head movement. _

_ "I have a terrible feeling that this man is going to get on my nerves," the Sheriff said as he stabbed the other eye of my poster._

_ Night came and the forest lost the little bit of appeal that it had. Now it was a dark deathtrap. Walking was out of the question as the forest floor was piled with small hazards that could easily result in hideous injury. The slightest hoot from an owl or a snap of a branch made me jump like a terrified child. _

_ I don't want to admit it, but there are times when my screams could have been mistaken for that of a small young girl._

_ But I didn't care.__ I was hungry. I was cold. And I was far too scared to sleep._

_ So I sat, praying that morning would come quickly. It didn't. Nothing ever does when you have nothing else to do. _

_ The sight of smoke brought me to my senses. Thoughts of a warm fire came rushing and I eagerly followed the sight until I could see the welcoming glow. I almost broke down in prayer when I found it unattended. Sinking to my knees, I fell to my knees and felt the immense heat quickly thawing me while I cursed myself for being outlawed on such a cold night. It would only get worse from here. What would I do when the snow began to fall?_

_ Suddenly a strike to the head brought me to my senses. Before I had time to even realise this, the second came. Finally logic returned and I ducked for the third. Rolling out of harms way, I caught a brief glimpse of my attacker. The firelight didn't give much to go on but what was obvious was his size and not the large, imposing kind. The large around the middle kind. I refused to be bested by a fat man._

_ It turned out that this moment of distraction cost me dearly. I just avoided the next swing. I did however fall to the ground which made running out of the question. I rolled to avoid the next attack and by chance rolled on a staff. After nursing the bruise that this staff had caused, I realised its possible usefulness and quickly leapt to my feet, staff in hand._

_ Finally it my turn to swing. Thankfully it seemed his defense wasn't as strong as his attack. I may have had no skill but my will to win helped me stay strong. Finally I had some decent blows and he seemed to weaken. One more quick blow and I could knock him out. He tried to dodge and his hood fell back. He seemed able to assess the situation. The end was near and it was definitely not the kind of end that he wanted. Falling to his knees, he dropped his staff and of all things, pulled a crucifix from around his neck and held it up. "Please," he begged, "surely you would not harm a man of the cloth."_

_ I considered. It could easily be a lie. Why on earth would a man of the cloth be alone in Sherwood so late? Now that he was remaining still long enough I could make out his features. He was wearing a brown cloak, traditionally worn by monks. He was old, making his fighting all the more impressive. His grey hair was residing and there was small defined lines on his face. These lines made me consider. They were smile lines, not typically shown on evil. They showed a happy life. And there was something about his face. Something that made me trust him._

_ Still, I was not stupid. "Recite the ten commandments," I ordered, testing him._

_ I had no way of knowing if he was right so really it was quite an easy test. Church for me had always been extra sleeping time. While some worshipped, I made games out of things like counting the cracks on the pew in front of me._

_ But the man seemed to know what he was talking about. He started strong with "Thou shall honour the Lord your God."_

_I nodded. "Makes sense," I said. "If I was going to make up commandments that everyone had to follow I would definitely put something in about everyone worshipping me above all things."_

_ The next one to catch my attention was "thou shall honour thy Mother and Father." What caught me was the pang of homesickness that I did not feel. Thinking of my parents brought thoughts of slight relief to be away from their disapproving comments and exasperated sighs whenever I did something wrong. There wasn't a sigh big enough for what I had done this time._

_ "Thou shall not convert thy neighbors wife." I wondered if it counted it converted rich mens daughters._

_ And so he continued. Without even pausing he recited the remainder. I had no clue if he was in fact speaking the truth. There was little knowledge for me in such an area. _

_ I slowly lowered my staff. "You had better pray for me brother," I said as I offered him my hand. "It seems that I am headed straight for hell thanks to all the commandments I had been ignoring."_

_ He took my hand and when he was half way off the ground I happily let go. He fell back to the ground with a startled cry and I couldn't help but laugh. "Payback for the bruises I will get," I said in explanation. "I'm also claiming your fire," I said, eagerly returning to its heat._

_ He looked a little lost. Without a weapon he was nowhere near as intimidating. In fact, he looked like the kind of Grandfather I had sometimes wished I had. "Don't you have a church to go to or something?" I asked, hinting for him to leave._

_ "I like to spend some time here," he said, gesturing around to Sherwood. "It reminds me of better times."_

_ I could easily raise my staff again and intimidate him into leaving but he was starting to intrigue me. A monk who could be found in a dangerous forest late at night in the freezing cold must have an interesting backstory. So I gestured for him to sit. "So you're not the typical monk," I commented, looking him up and down. "Shouldn't you be in an monastery praying or something?"_

_ Have you ever been in a monastery?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "It's rather boring."_

_ I didn't expect that. "Don't you have a divine calling or something that makes praying seem like the more enjoyable pastime?"_

_ He snorted but said nothing. Both of us were guarded and with good right to be. We had spent a good amount of time trying to kill each other and now it seemed that we would swap backstories._

_ He could see my interest and knew that it was the only way that he could maintain his spot by the fire. "What do you know about monks?" he asked. I shrugged and gestured for him to tell me._

_ "Well some enter the brotherhood due to a deep love of Christ. Others, and perhaps the majority, enter through being the younger sons of a family that can't afford to take care of all of their offspring."_

_ "Which were you?"_

_ "A bit of both. I wanted to worship of course but not in the amount they required. We were offered free time which most used for extra prayers. I used them to read. I studied anything and everything we had until I could practically recite the pages perfectly. I became fluent in Latin and French. I knew astronomy and geology. You name it, I probably studied it."_

_ "I'm guessing swordplay was on the list. Looking at the way you fight."_

_ He looked slightly ashamed. "That was something I learnt much later. Not typical behavior of a man with Holy Orders. But it was obvious that I didn't belong in the monastery. They took pity on me and decided that I should pass on all of the knowledge that I had learnt. I travelled as a tutor, working in different rich households. I taught many a wise student, some smarter than others."_

_ The silence hurt so I decided that it was time for introductions. "I'm Henry," I said as I once again offered my hand._

_ He hesitated before taking it but upon deciding that I wouldn't drop him again, took and said "Friar Tuck."_

_ "Can I call you Tucky?"_

_ He glared at me. "No."_

_ It was silent again but it was definitely a lot less uncomfortable than before._

_ "And you?" he asked. "What's your story?"_

_ "Well you could say that I never really like rules. I've been arrested three times.' _

_ 'The first was completely coincidental. I was only seven! A rather enthusiastic game of round a ball had gone horribly awry. Some would have called it stealth. Most called it a nuisance. But either way, in a rather extraordinary turn of events, the rather heavy ball we were playing with landed heavily on a rather unbalanced tray. This tray, being half on and half off a table, managed to flip right through the air, taking its contents with it. Unfortunately, its contents happened to be some large and elaborate desert, which, rather stealthily I might add, flew right into the face of the Sherriff of York. Why we were playing such an obviously rough and disastrous game so close to a town official, I shall never know and have constantly tried to explain. But regardless of the reasoning, I was still in a lot of trouble. My poor Father had worked so hard to ensure the success of the feast. He was a struggling baker who had been put in charge of the food for this particular occasion. I was just a young boy who had tagged along in the hopes of some excitement. I should have been careful what I wished for. That particular sheriff had not been a cruel man. Generally he was quite fair in his convictions. Unfortunately for me, he was also someone obsessed with cleanliness and everything being in its place. Evidently, a cakes place was not supposed to be on his face.'_

_ 'To say the sheriff was angry was an understatement. To say he was furiously and dangerously enraged was still an understatement. His roaring was something still unrivalled in my fearful memories.'_

_ 'So it seemed wise to leave York. I don't remember much, other then my mother constantly saying "why Henry, why would you do this?' Rather than feel guilty, I simply grew annoyed at her constant repetition."_

_ Tuck was clearly amused by the story but was trying his best to act dignified. Obviously disastrous child play was not supposed to be amusing._

_ "The second time I was arrested was not accidental, but it still wasn't deserved. It was many years later, when I had developed to a rather good-looking boy, aged seventeen. At this point we had relocated to Derby. My Father had built up a respectable business that had him catering to many a fine and respectable household. I was taken on as his apprentice. More of a 'mule' I liked to call myself as all it seemed I was capable of doing was hauling heaving items to where ever my Father saw fit. This wasn't so bad though; it worked up my arm strength. This newfound arm strength helped me, let's say 'improve my relationship' with the fine young ladies from these fine and respectable households."_

_ "I should have known," Tuck said with a deep sigh. I could tell he was not the kind of man who would be easily impressed with my great stories of conquest. _

_ "These ladies have generally had little interaction with the opposing gender. They are easy to excite with a few finely chosen words. The only trouble is their maids who are generally with them from dawn to dusk. The only time they were apart was the time when these nursemaids have had one too many drinks at the parties of which I happened to be in attendance. I was not the kind of persona that these ladies were used to. They were all entering the stage of marriage and were dolled up to meet that special someone who would pay their families enough money. I considered it to be my public duty to give them a night of excitement before they entered the horrid later stages of their lives; marriage, children followed by sitting around with embroidery, inflicting the same pain on their daughters. I was merely giving them a night of true happiness before they learnt to plaster of the fake smiles that covered up the internal aching."_

_ Tuck's frowning was growing slightly annoying but I continued._

_ "Their Fathers didn't tend to see things the same way. Lord Reginald was the one who caught me, with his daughter Pricilla.'_

_ 'Once again, there was roaring. I was beginning to think that it was a regular practice in England. Maybe it was a right of passage when you came of age. Everyone knew you were a grown man when you could blow your top over every tiny detail.'_

_ 'His wife was crying too. No wonder people considered women to be the weaker gender. She kept moaning, "Her reputation is over. She will never find a good husband."_

_ 'For future reference, it is not wise in these situations to say "On the contrary. I think men would prefer a women who knows a thing or two about..."_

_ 'I was forced to stop there. Sir Reginald gestured for his guard to give me a strong hit on the head.'_

_ 'And now here I am today. Outlawed, for stealing bread."_

_ It seemed that part of our initial awkwardness had faded. I had finally relaxed and had dropped the staff I had been keeping close at all times_

_ A bird suddenly took flight giving us both the fright of our lives. It finally brought us to our senses. "Come with me," Tuck said "You can spend the night at my church until you figure out what you're going to with your new life as an outlaw."_

_ I hated churches but at this point would go anywhere for a roof over my head. I realised how tired I was when we started walking. There was no more talking as I was in such a tired daze. Arriving in Locksley slightly woke me up. "Use your hood," Tuck whispered to me and I thanked my past self for being outlawed while wearing a hood. _

_ Tuck practically had to drag me to one of the back rooms. I was awake enough to enquire why a church needed sleeping areas in the back to which he said "there will always be those who the church can take in and help."_

_ Why did Tuck think I needed help? I was too tired to think on that much longer and quickly succumbed to sleep upon falling on the bed._


	71. The Workings of Fate

_ I know that many weren't as lucky as me in the act of so easily finding a bed. Cecily had spent a good portion of the night searching but not for the same innocent purposes as me._

_ Yet another foolish young man walked past and each woman set about with their flirting and the acts of raising their skirts or lowering their bodices. Cecily had always hated this competition, even when she was young enough to be a serious contender. Now that the years had snuck upon her, she hated it even more._

_ She groaned with the rest of the women as once again, Olivia was selected._

_ Another woman, Margaret, grabbed Olivia's arm. "don't you have another client waiting?" she asked coyly. _

_ Olivia smiled, slyly. "We never had definitive plans."_

_ The other woman was surprised. "You don't want to lost that one. He is very rich you know. Great influence. Power."_

_ "And he would grow tired of me quickly if I was like every other foolish whore here. Trust me, I know how to play him."_

_ And with that, she strode off into the night._

_ "I think it's over," Mary groaned as she slumped against the wall, "we're getting old Cecily."_

_ Cecily slumped beside her. "Before you know it, we'll end up like Old Gladys," she responded. Both women looked over to where the old woman sat. She never gave up, despite her wrinkles but she never received work. Thankfully the other women took pity on her and often gave her money or food. Excluding Olivia, most of them were almost like each other's family._

_ "Shoot me if I ever get that bad," Mary responded._

_ They were interrupted by the others buzzing around in excitement. This could only mean one thing. Free money. And this only came from one place._

_ Sure enough, three figures came out of the darkness._

_ The final three members of Robin Hood's gang._

_ Roger led the pack and had all the women swooning in the hopes of gaining a few extra coins. None of this interested him however and he carried on giving out equal amounts. Roger wasn't the kind of man who had friends. He just never wanted them. Rumour has it that he was actually close to fellow merry man Will Scarlet but sadly Will too was long gone. Still the women tried anything to get close to him. They tried their flirting and touching, mainly of his hair. This was a mistake. The man was very sensitive about his bright red hair. He wore it as short as possible to hide its colour but it was still obvious. Women weren't very good at picking this up and it only angered his when they complimented him on it._

_ Roger may not have been the best looking man in Nottingham but he was still the best looking of the remaining merry men. In all fairness, one was a woman and the other was an idiot._

_ Much had always been the one that everyone picked on. He wasn't particularly good at anything other than moaning. This made him an easy target and he paid dearly for it. It didn't hurt his pride however and he still paraded around as if he were the best person in England. This made him all the more easy to mock. _

_ Keighley was the only woman of the gang and the prostitutes were uneasy around her. The eyed her up as competition even though they clearly had no chance with Roger. Keighley wasn't interested in him either but they still thoroughly examined her. Most felt easy with the knowledge that most of them were much prettier than her. Her hair was long and brown but quite unkempt from the long nights in the forest. Her features would not be described as delicate and they found it easy to pick holes in her appearance. But none of the women dared say any of this to her as she was very tough, and at least a head taller than all of them._

_ "Not much for us today," Margret said ungratefully while looking at her meager sum._

_ "Be thankful that you have any," Roger told her sharply. "Do you know how hard it is to provide for all of Nottingham and it's surrounding towns with only three members?"_

_ "It's pretty hard," Much clarified, in case she was confused._

_ "Well I guess you need a new Robin Hood then," Mary decided. "Shouldn't be too hard? I reckon any old fool could do it. Just need that hat and the feather and you're good to go."_

_ Her joke was obviously inappropriate in the presence of these men._

_ Roger was obviously holding back a lot of anger as he said, "Robin was one of the most kind and talented men that I had ever had the privilege of knowing and he possessed skill, knowledge, kindness, courage and the ability to put others needs in front of his own. Saying anything otherwise is an insult to his memory."_

_ That silenced the women. Roger threw the rest of the coins at their feet and stormed off with the other two almost running to keep up._

_ Cecily didn't dive to the ground for the coins like the others. She was too deep in thought at their words. "I thought that Robin Hood just left to go fight in the Holy Land?"_

_ "And how many men do you know who come back from that alive?" Margret scoffed but was quickly back in the fight for extra money._

_ A few coins had rolled away from the group and Cecily finally bent to pick them up. With todays taxes there was barley enough for a small meal but it was still more money that Cecily had held in a long time._

_ It was obvious that she was getting no work tonight. So she figured that she would put the money to good use._

.

.

.

_ I awoke to voices. Voices singing. A choir to be exact. A Church choir. It took a while to remember where I was and then the singing made a tad more sense. If I was going to stay it was obvious that there would be no more late morning sleeping in. There was no sleeping through that singing._

_ Groaning, I heaved myself out of bed. The running from the day before had been the most exercise I had done in a long time and I was still exhausted. _

_ I wandered around the back of the church, looking for anything edible. I figured that I had found Tucks room when not only was it far bigger than mine but it had a secret food draw. Judging by his size, I assumed he would be using that draw often._

_ When I finally slowed down from my gauging I noticed the mess of the room. He had struck me as a clean man, despite the food hidden away. Yet there were many pieces of parchment strewn carelessly across his desk. It seemed like he was looking something. Each piece of parchment was marked with a date and a name. The date changed but the name was always the same. Allan A Dale._

_ I had heard the name before. He was one of Robin Hood's men. The parchment on top of the stack was labeled 'Locksley affair.' _

_ Needless to say, this discovery did not help my bad morning mood. A deep feeling of depression was now set upon me as I read about the typical day of an outlaw._

_ It was horrible. I had been there that day but I had known nothing of what had truly happened._

_ I simply remembered Prince John's men had barricaded us in Locksley, saying that they would burn the village to the ground if we did not hand over Robin Hood's dead body and all of his men._

_ I hadn't been around at this point however. As I had told Tuck, I had been in the company of a lovely young woman. I believe her name was Beatrice and she was very, shall we say distracting._

_ Eventually I tore myself from her side, or so I told her. I passionately spoke of my duty to my life on the road and how I could never remain in one place._

_ Once on the street, I found it rather hard to leave. Finally I saw the barricades._

_ So I walked up to a man who seemed in a hurry to be somewhere. Still he stopped as I asked "would you kindly explain why the exits appear to be barricaded?"_

_ He looked at me in shock. "Where have you been?" he asked "we have until sundown to kill Robin Hood and hand him over to Guy of Gisbourne. We've caught some of his men in the square so I suggest you head there."_

_ The Gisbourne part of the tale confused me. He was the Sheriff's right hand man and wasn't the nicest of men but I had never pictured him doing something like this._

_ It was there that I first saw Robin Hood. There was definitely something about him to make him stand out in a crowd. I knew it was him instantly, though slightly influenced by the feathered hat that I knew he was known to wear. Yet he seemed different from other men. He was tied along with other members of his gang while everyone decided on what to do._

_ "Well come on then!" he had yelled._

_ "Robin what are you doing" one of his men murmured but Robin wasn't listening._

_ "Well who's going to do it?" he yelled again. "How about you Walter? I mean, we did save all your children from starving but feel free. Or how about you Francis? When you stab me, be sure to think of the time we helped you rebuild your house when it collapsed that winter. Who is man enough to kill the men who have done nothing but save you?"_

_ No one went forward._

_ "This is ridiculous" the first man from this morning walked up to us._

_ "Do it Edmund" Robin Hood said. The poor man who walked forward was well and truly terrified. It was almost embarrassing. He didn't do anything obviously. Just threw the sword away._

_"They won't burn down the village," Robin Hood said. "They need your taxes and other town will revolt. Even if they try, we will be prepared."_

_ The first man cut Hood's bindings and plans were made._

_ Sundown came. I was amongst the crowd. And now it was my turn to be terrified. _

_ It got dark fast yet nothing happened._

_ We all prayed that they had been bluffing._

_ And there was that horrid fight. I had never wanted to run more in my life. The crowd refused to move as they watch Robin fight. I had never seen someone more skilled in swordplay but it was obvious they were outnumbered. The villagers saw this too and finally, one threw a stone. Then another. Another grabbed his sword and charged. Others followed. Even me._

_ We won that fight. They may have had skill but we had numbers. A lot of numbers._

_ I knew we had won. What I didn't know was how much I had missed._

_ One of Robin's men had been killed as he leapt in front of Robin as Gisbourne tried to kill him. Matthew was his name and he died in his brother Luke's arms. I learnt that another member Benjamin, or Benny as they called him, had been forced to kill the woman he loved as she turned on them and tried to kill four of the members. The member Thomas also had some troubles in love as he learnt of the husband of the woman he loved. I had never even considered all of the things that outlaws had been forced to go through, while I wasted my life away._

_ "Not exactly what you would call a nice read?" Tuck asked from the doorway. I had nothing to say, I was still too shocked at what I had red. "And you thought is was a bad thing to be compared to Robin Hood," Tuck stated, raising his eyebrows at my supposed stupidity. He himself had been hinting all night that I was following in Hoods footsteps._

_ "Actually it is, the man was a fool," I said, meaning every word. Tuck looked a little surprised so I decided to explain. "He let himself get too emotionally attached to people. If it were me, I would have hacked my way out of there and wouldn't have cared who got in my way. Why didn't he just pull his sword and threaten them? They would have been too scared to try anything? Then his man wouldn't have died."_

_ Tuck snickered at this. Not the reaction I was expecting. "Robin did have a habit of getting too emotionally attached." _

_ It seemed that he wasn't going to explain. So I grabbed some food from his hidden draw and headed out. "Where are you going?" Tuck asked, surprised. _

_ "Out," I said simply. "Thank you for the food and board but considering I spared your life, I'd say that makes us even."_

_ "But you can't…" he began to say as I he tried running after me. "You have a greater purpose."_

_ I stopped, but only as I was curious. "What purpose?"_

_ "You- Well-". The man seemed lost for words. "You obviously aren't afraid to stand up for the rights of the poor. You can evade many guards and escape right from under the Sheriff's nose. You're an outlaw. So you could be great. You could be…" He trailed off, but I knew what he wanted._

_ "Do you really expect me to be the next Robin Hood?"_

_ Tuck shook his head. "I expect you to be you, with a bit of influence from Robin." Now it was my turn to shake my head as I tried to get round him but his large frame was ideal for blocking doors as he rambled on. "Think about it, you were caught stealing from the rich and giving to who? The poor."_

_ "Actually it was for me," I said, leaving out the part about my parents but he already knew._

_ "And then you easily bested me in a fight."_

_ "That wasn't exactly hard. And insulting to you as I have never held a sword before."_

_ "I could teach you." That stopped me. What boy had never had dreams of being a swash buckling rouge with a big sword? He saw that he had interested me. "Just give me one week. One week to teach you everything I know. What's the worst that can happen? You'll have a roof over your head and plenty of food for one more week before you being your pointless and probably short life as an outlaw."_

_ So I shook his hand, praying that I had not made a deal with the devil._

_ Then he struck me with the full force of his fist._

_ It was so strong that I was flung backwards. "Lesson number one, be ready for anything," he said as I nursed my quickly forming bruise. He stepped forward to help me up and I saw the fist forming again. This time I was too fast for him and dodged to the side, resulting in his hand making hard contact on the stone wall. As he yelped in surprise, I quickly twisted my body and swung my leg around, successfully tripping him. He fell with another yelp as I leapt to stand over him, fist at the ready._

_ "Lesson one completed," I panted. "This shouldn't take long."_

_ I offered him my hand and happily dropped him again. "It looks like you may need a reminder of your own lessons Tucky."_

_ He grimaced at the nickname and humiliation but knew he had to carry on._

_ So my training began. My strong arms went to good use as we worked all day and into a good portion of the night. Many others quickly joined the bruise from the first day, mostly bigger and a lot more painful. It turned out that swordplay came easily to me. While I didn't have the brain for constant tactics, I could dodge and roll extremely well. It turned out that my childhood of constantly running away had come in handy as I now had the ability to see the danger and avoid it. Archery came a lot harder and I thought that it was pointless anyway. I considered arrows for cowards who were too scared to face their attacker close up due to their lack of skill. But I didn't dare say any of that to Tuck. I did find that I hated being bad at something, therefore I worked harder at archery. By the end of the week I was getting pretty good. Sure I was not Robin Hood, but I still had some moves._

_ Tuck gave me some more of Allen's papers upon leaving. "To reflect upon," he claimed. He hadn't taken in my reluctance to read._

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_Raewyn walked quickly home from Sunday service. David barley acknowledged her return, simply stating "took you long enough. Awful nice of you to leave me to finish the Prince's order by myself."_

_ She ignored her blacksmith duties to tell him "I saw that man again. The one they're calling the new Robin Hood."_

_ "Great," David said, not even bothering to pretend to be interested, "now get to the horse shoes."_

_ "He was at the church of all places," she continued, not caring that he wasn't listening. "Friar Tuck is teaching him to fight. It doesn't look like he needs a lot of help though, he's picking it up fast."_

_ "Great I lose my gamble," David said sarcastically. "If you're not going to help with work, could you at least go to the market or something. We need more eggs."_

_ "Go to the market with what? We have no money."_

_ He gestured to the table where Raewyn saw a few coins. "Did someone you leant money too finally come through?" she asked in mock surprise. Actually it wasn't that false. David had a habit of lending out money to anyone who needed it and never pushed for them to pay him back. This had always bothered Raewyn as they needed money just as much, if not more than these others. After all, money was the reason for David's ears being cut off. He could hear of course, lobes didn't affect ones hearing. It still hurt though. And disgusted people who saw the stumps._

_ "Cecily actually," he said in response to her question. He regretted it instantly as Raewyn's expression instantly changed to one mixed with disgusted and amusement._

_ "So it's well earned wage then?" she said as she shoved them as far from her as possible. David rolled his eyes as he prepared for another of his sisters angered rants._

_ He quickly interrupted her. "If you're going to rant, take it out on the horse shoes." Thankfully she did as she was told, grabbed her tongs and began to hammer. She liked to think that what she did was decent work, the kind that women could do just as well as men if they put their minds to it. She rolled up her sleeves in anticipation of the heat to reveal her rather muscled arms, something she was very proud of._

_ "You would never catch me indulging in a job on my back," she practically spat as she hammered away. "What gets me is that they think that it's the only suitable job for women nowadays."_

_ She carried on. Her blows getting heavier the angrier she grew. David didn't mind as long as the job got done. He gave into distraction and gazed at anything but his sister. Looking out the window however, he saw the rather disturbing sight of a pack of guards, headed for their home._

_ Quickly dropping his hammer, David jumped into action. He grabbed his sister by the shoulders and surprised her into silence. "Listen to me," he said quickly. "There is money in a small hole I dug behind the house. Look for the big leaf pile. Keep enough for yourself then go to the tavern, ask for Martha and give the rest to her. She will know what to do."_

_ He leapt away as the door crashed open. Raewyn had no idea over what was going on and snatched the hot tongs from the fire and held them in front of her self and David._

_ "Drop them," David muttered behind her. "Don't get yourself in trouble too."_

_ "That's right girl," the Sheriff said as he entered the room, "we wouldn't want more trouble then we've already got now would we?" He paused to survey his surroundings. "Has anyone told you that it's filthy in here?" he said absent mindedly as the guards pushed past Raewyn to grab David._

_ "What is his crime?" Raewyn stuttered, much to the Sheriff's amusement._

_ "Theft against the crown," he retorted, really enjoying her fear. "And I'm sure we can put on a few more life sentences for the state of this room. It's just insulting to be in here."_

_ He turned to leave, obviously unable to withstand any more time in what he considered filth. Raewyn grabbed his arm in attempt to stop him. His look of disgust heightened as he said "don't touch me," in a lethal voice that made the once brave Raewyn stumble backwards in fear._

_ "Women," the Sheriff muttered as he left._

_ Raewyn was left alone. But the 'women' comment succeeded in making her more angry then she had ever been before._

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_ My first day as a trained outlaw wasn't going so well. To say the least. I perched myself at a good spot near the edge of a very busy spot in the road and eagerly awaited my first victims._

_ They came, but I wasn't that stupid. An enormous carriage passed by early, surrounded by about twenty guards but I decided that I would rather, I don't know, stay alive! The second was a smaller carriage but there were just as many men, and these looked much scarier._

_ So I sat, playing with the grass. I made a rather impressive grass mountain before midday as I awaited a less intimidating foe._

_ "You're not very good are you?" came a voice from above me. I looked up but the sun was too bright. As I shielded my eyes, the voice carried on. "No one you could steal from comes along this way any more. I'm guessing you're after them smaller lords, still with a good loot but with much less men? Well they all go on the main road now."_

_ "This is the main road," I called back, watching as I saw the rough shape of someone moving amongst the trees._

_ "No, this was the new main road. The road everyone changed to for fear of the old main one, which was guarded by Robin Hood. Now that he is gone, everyone thinks that it's safe to return to the old main road, making it the new main road excluding the stuck up rich folk who still want their money to safely reach Nottingham but don't really need to worry due to their men at arms."_

_ "Who are you?" I called out, sick of not knowing who I was talking to._

_ Finally he leapt to the ground. "George is the name," he said. I nearly laughed at the puniness of him. Any anticipation I had previously felt for a hard fight was gone as I noted his small posture, roughed mousy hair and limp arms._

_ "And what are you doing, climbing around trees George?" I said, as un-mockingly as I could._

_ "Helping you out," he said as he walked up to me and did the strangest thing. He began to ruffle up my hair. I dodged away, protecting my pride and joy. "come on now," he said "no one is going to fear you if you have perfect hair! You want your enemies to think that you spend all morning working on your muscles, not your hair."_

_ "It wasn't all morning," I muttered but I let him ruin my perfectly styled hair. Sacrifices had to be made._

_ Next he inspected my face and arms. "Got any bruises?" he asked, squinting at me through the sunlight._

_ "I'm too good for wounds," I corrected him. "Besides, shouldn't I want enemies to think that I'm far too experienced to be injured in a fight?"_

_ "No one is that good," he corrected me. "You think Robin Hood was perfectly unscathed in his daily fighting. You want your enemies to think that you're tough and can handle the pain if necessary, therefore making them too scared to inflict it."_

_ I didn't like how he talked to me. It was as if he was explaining something to a child. "Can I strike you?" he asked to which I leapt away._

_ "Are you mad?" I sputtered._

_ "How about I give you a nice scar on your arm?"_

_ "Get away. Why are you doing all this anyway?"_

_ He thankfully stepped away and I relaxed slightly at the failed prospect of an unwelcome scar or bruise. "I have a bit of money on you see? I set a pool up around Nottingham and you live for a certain amount of time and start helping the poor, I win a fair bit of money." Suddenly he came towards em again. "Now, about that scar."_

_ "No scars," I yelled, rather put on edge by this odd man. "Surely there must a place where the most cowardly people go where I could have a nice beginners start? Once who would fear me without any scars or bruises?"_

_ He considered. "There are the far back roads. But you'd be lucky for anyone to come through them. If they did, however-" He trailed off as it was obvious that I understood how easy it could be._

_ "Well I need money, to buy food, to stay alive. So if you really wish to win your bet, you could show me to these roads." He seemed eager enough and began to lead me off. "And I'm not helping the poor," I added. "All my spoils go to me."_

_ "We'll discuss that later," he said, once again his tone reflected that of a parent to an unruly child._

_ "How on earth did I become a we?" I said but he wasn't listening._

_._

_._

_ He was right about the waiting. We quickly hit a road and then little else happened. I set about making another grass tower that I affectionately named 'Grass Tower the second' and was once again amused for a short amount of time. George set about climbing trees again and I barley heard from him. It seemed that he was very gifted in this area, probably due to his small structure and lithe limbs that allowed his to so easily move through the branches._

_ A whistle from above brought me to my senses as it was quickly followed by his figure leaping down to meet me on the ground. "There is a group coming," he informed me but didn't look very excited._

_ "Then why the long face?" I enquired._

_ "I think we should wait for the next one."_

_ I quickly tried to hide my fear. "Is it warriors?"_

_ He shook his head._

_ "Mercenaries?"_

_ "Not exactly."_

_ I peered as far off down the road as I dared. "A group of nuns," I said as I finally saw them. "Perfect."_

_ "You're really going to attack women of the cloth?" he gaped. I pulled my sword in answer. They wouldn't have much money but I could be as ruthless as I dared without fear of a possible retaliation and finally stop his whining about my not being tough enough. I sent out an arrow, carefully aimed to just shoot past the nuns in front and hit a tree that they were passing. Just to get their attention. Then I leapt from the trees, sword in hand. "I hope you have prayed ladies," I said as they huddled together, "for you are going to need God on your side."_

_ The tallest nun was the only one who seemed to have the courage in her to address me. "Be warned my son, judgment is inflicted on all. Your day shall come and the Lord does not take kindly to those who harm his loyal servants."_

_ "I don't want to harm you," I said, lowering my sword a little to show my good intent. I saw George let out a sigh of relief on the side, as did most of the nuns. "I do however, want any valuables you possess and any failure to hand these over will result in violence." All were scared again. Save for me. It felt good to be an outlaw, to be feared._

_ I gestured at George to emerge from the trees. "If you would kindly hand any of the said valuables to my friend there, you can safely go on your way."_

_ George looked very annoyed at the prospect of helping to rob nuns but thankfully did what I asked and approached the first nun. It was quite comical to me how she was much taller than him. It seemed that he was shorter than I previously thought. The nuns were well off as the first handed over a silver ring and a rather expensive looking crucifix. The second did the same. The second nun was not as good as pretending to be calm as the first. She took a wobbling step backwards, tripped on a sticking up branch and hobbled around whilst trying to regain her balance. There was no chance of her hiding the jingling sound from inside of her robes._

_ "So, sisters of the cloth aren't' as honest as they're cracked up to be," I said, watching the first nuns face break out in annoyance. "Surely as holy women, you'll be wanting to donate that the poor?"_

_ "Poor meaning your own selfish purposes," she spat back._

_ "Well I do count myself as poor," I corrected. "Now, unless you see fit to hand over your honest sum then I do believe a whole body search is in order."_

_ "You wouldn't dare," she said, horrified._

_ I looked her up and down. "Trust me, I can think of much more enjoyable ways to spend my afternoon," I said in disgust._

_ George continued on his peace filled mission of getting their spoils. He approached the smallest nun slowly, trying to appear kindly. "You don't want him thoroughly searching you, do you?" he said._

_ She stared him up and down. I could see why he chose to approach her. She wasn't adorned in wrinkle or had a heavy body like her sisters had. Still, the poor thing looked like she could be blown off in the wind and I really didn't want to have to harm her. Unfortunately she just shook her head at George, refusing to hand over anything. He looked back at me for guidance and I gestured for him to use force. Reluctantly, he reached out towards her. _

_ He needn't have worried. Before he even got close, she had grabbed his arm, twisted it and sent him flying to the ground. She had also managed to grab his sword from his sheath while he fell and she turned to face me, sword at the ready._

_ I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on the absurdity of the situation however as she lunged towards me, giving me little time to dodge. Quickly recovering from the shock, I barley managed to doge again as I felt her second blow whoosh past my left ear. I wanted to pause and ensure that my lobe was still there but it was time to attack back. I feigned left but quickly turned right and turned to deliver a striking blow, which she was ready for. She was a good fighter, clearly better then me. My one weeks training had not prepared me for this._

_ Luckily the distinctive sound of a bowstring being pulled brought her to a halt as George bellowed "drop your weapon. Or rather, my weapon," he said as an after thought._

_ Her momentary distraction had brought me all the luck I needed as I placed the point of my sword at her neck. She had no choice but to surrender and drop the sword. George dropped to the ground to retrieve it and we both let out a sigh of relief as the danger passed._

_ "You're not a typical nun," I said, allowing her a small amount of praise._

_ "You're not a typical outlaw," she retorted. "Actually, you are. You are just another would be Robin Hood who is far too cowardly to make a decent theft so instead you attack defenseless nuns."_

_ I whistled in surprise. "You don't talk like a nun either. And I think we all know that you are not defenseless."_

_ "I'm not but these other poor women are. They are simply women of God who have business in Nottingham with Friar Tuck."_

_ "Tucky?" I said in surprise. "He's a good friend of mine. I'll escort you myself. I do charge for my services though."_

_ I wanted to hear more from the young nun but the others had other ideas. "Come sister Mary," the tall one called. "It is not your place to converse with outlaws."_

_ The woman was clearly not one to be messed with and her tone showed how she clearly was not to be disobeyed. Sister Mary quickly returned to her place in the group, mumbling "yes Mother Superior."_

_ This intrigued me. "So tell me," I said to the Mother Superior, "is your name really as vain as it seems? It's practically shoving your so called superiority on anyone who hears it"_

_ She clearly disapproved of my joke. "Sister Francis there is the only one of us with hidden money. We entrusted it on her at the start of our journey. If you mean for peace, as you say, then kindly exchange our money and valuables for your protection until we reach Nottingham."_

_ I chose to trust her. Although, I wouldn't have minded doing a search on Sister Mary, to see what she looked like under the habit. But to be honest, the Mother Superior scared me. What a big touch outlaw I was turning out to be._

_ George looked exasperated at the prospect of doing all this work, especially after seeing how small our spoils were. But he sighed and lead the way._

_ I dropped back to walk behind Sister Mary but the Mother Superior shushed me before I could even open my mouth. I was too scared to try after that._

_ "I'm going to head off another way," George muttered to me._

_ Finally I understood. "Are you scared of nuns?"_

_ "Even now they are damning my soul," he said in panic, rather loudly. They all turned to stare at him and I could see him squirm._

_ "Go forth," I said dramatically, "to continue to cower."_

_ George practically ran to Locksley, shuddering at the memory of assisting in the robbery of God's servants._

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_ Martha greeted any customers warmly and it seemed that she was in for a rough night. She had run the Locksley tavern for ten years now and had never seen months as bad as the past few. This could have been from the rise in taxes due to the lack of outlaws but Martha knew it was largely due to two outlaws in particular. Thomas and Mark may have been some of England's greatest outlaws but they were still heavy drinkers, which had suited Martha just fine. Both had been in her tavern almost every night. She had grown rather found of them. She had fallen in love with Thomas last year._

_ Aside from their emotional importance, the men had always brought her more customers. Neither had realised but the tavern was always fuller on nights when the villagers spotted some of the famous Merry Men heading there. Now they were gone and she wasn't making the money she needed. _

_ George was one of the first to bring in the night flow. Martha saw his spooked demeanor and wordlessly handed over a flagon. "It's been a rough day," he muttered._

_ "Nuns?" she asked, knowing his weakness._

_ "Nuns," he responded._

_ Martha would have stayed and talked further. She enjoyed getting information out of him. But Raewyn became far more interesting as she stormed into the tavern, clearly aggravated and looking to yell at someone. Martha was happy to be this person if it meant getting information. _

_ She expected Raewyn to yell but surprisingly she leant across the bar and whispered "I need to talk to the outlaws."_

_ Martha sputtered out "Why on earth do you think I know outlaws?"_

_ Raewyn was clearly not in the mood. "David was arrested," she said, ignoring Martha's look of shock. "He has been stealing to help take care of the poor around Nottingham and is going to be hanged so excuse me if I am not in the mood for your lies."_

_ Martha dropped the flagon she had been filling and yelled "I'm closing for the night. Everyone out." For once, it was lucky that there were so few customers. "Oliver stay here," she called to her son who nodded, obviously disappointed._

_ "I'm coming!" George called._

_ "No you're not," Raewyn told him. She had always found him annoying, especially his deep love and admiration for outlaws. She knew if she allowed him to come, there would be no time to discuss her brothers rescue as George would bombard them with foolish questions and just embarrass himself. She knew she had to distract him with something. "Hey look it's Cecily."_

_ That had him. But not in the way Raewyn wanted. "Please don't leave me alone with her. I never know what to say. Please let me come with you."_

_ Raewyn needed a new plan. "But if you don't talk to her, some other man will. And this man will have money, and good looks, and charm and you will never live up."_

_ He cursed under his breath and headed for the spot across the road where Cecily stood. About halfway there, he cursed again, turned and headed back to us. "So I guess I'm coming," he happily announced._

_ Raewyn groaned and headed for Sherwood. She paused when she noticed Martha who had an odd look on her face. "Are you ok?" she asked._

_ Martha barley looked at her, remaining deep in her thoughts. "It's nothing. It's just, he reminds me a lot of-"_

_ She trailed off but Raewyn understood and left her to reminisce on all the times that Thomas had been too afraid to approach her._

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_ Meanwhile I escorted the nuns to the Church and it was easily one of the most uncomfortable journeys of my life. As much as I would never admit it George, nuns do scare me a little. Or at the very least they make me uncomfortable._

_ I figured that I would avoid actually going in the Church, as Tuck would probably demand that I return my hard earned earnings. So instead I wandered around Nottingham which proved to be rather boring. So instead I read back over the Allen A Dale's entries._

_ It proved to be hard. Tuck had only given me a few and some even had bits torn off. Either Tuck was a slob or he was trying to hide something. _

_ Still, I enjoyed reading of the many adventures of Robin Hood or the little I could learn from what I was given. Allen was more than just the author of these stories. He was clearly Robin's best friend and the brains of the gang. It seemed Robin wasn't as smart as people made out as none of them knew who really came up with all of the ideas. Little John had always had this image of being dangerous and rough but by learning about his secret wife, Amelia. I knew that Matthew had died in Locksley but I didn't know that another of the Merry Men had died. Levon had died shortly before Matthew but a consumption. Marshal had betrayed the gang after his brother Matthew's death. He began to work for the Sheriff and still could be today for I knew. Much seemed to be the one of the gang that everyone picked on. Apparently the poor man was just so easy to pick on. Benny helped lessen this blow for Much as he too, was easily picked on due to his youth. Roger was the antisocial one who refused to make friends. Will was amusing as he was such good enemies with Allen and since the entries were written by Allen, I learnt many insults for Will and bad aspects about him._

_ But save for these few trivial facts, I learnt little else. I gave up after the first couple of pages. I would have to give Tuck a strong word about messing with ones reading materials._

_ So I dragged myself back to the Church, prating that the nuns had moved on._

_ They hadn't._

_ I was fixed with many a glare upon entering the room. Their Latin chanting came to an abrupt halt and Tuck stood to address me._

_ "Am I interrupting?" I asked as sweetly as I could._

_ The large nun pointed at me and barked "he was the one Friar. He robbed us!" I knew there was a reason I hated nuns._

_ Tuck instantly set about fixing the problem. "I can assure you sisters that Henry will be returning everything he took from you." I tried to interrupt but he shushed me instantly. _

_ Reluctantly I fished the coin purse from my belt and retrieved the crucifixes from around my neck._

_ Tuck snatched the bag from my hand and muttered, "apologise."_

_ "No!" I said indignantly._

_ He gripped my shoulder, pretending to be gentle. What the nuns couldn't see was how hard he was gripping me and how quickly my shoulder lost feeling._

_ "Ok ok ok,' I said quickly and he released me from his death grip. "I am very sorry for drawing on the training that Tuck here, gave me and using it to rob you."_

_ None of them looked convinced. I couldn't help but notice that Sister Mary wasn't amongst them. It put me on edge, almost as if she could pounce at me at any second. "Still, I can just tell we are going to be great friends." And I plodded myself right down in the middle of them. They remained in their kneeling positions and glared at me. "So what are we doing? I'll join in."_

_ "Benediction," The Mother Superior told me coldly._

_ "Which entails?"_

_ "Praying silently for a long time."_

_ "I'll go find something to do in the back."_

_ "I thought so."_

_ So I was obviously not welcome there and I headed to the back rooms of the Church._

_ There I saw the small nun. Both of us were instantly on alert._

_ "You," I said, eyeing her up for weapons._

_ "You," she said, apparently doing the same._

_ The chanting in the Latin from the next room quickly brought us to our senses and we quickly began whispering._

_ "Shouldn't you be in there praying or something?" I asked, gesturing to the others._

_ "Shouldn't you be practicing your swordplay? You clearly need it."_

_ We both continued to glare at each other. Finally I grew bored. "Truce?" I asked, holding up my hands in mock surrender. She nodded and I still nervously sat down. "So seriously, how did you get out of that praying thing? It could come in handy to know such things."_

_ "I have a headache," she said, through obviously no pain._

_ Then there was silence. It awkward. So I once again tried to make conversation. "I thought that nuns enjoyed all of that praying?"_

_ "I have sensitive knees. I can't handle kneeling for that long," was the only response I got._

_ I assumed that I would have to get used to silence. So I settled for looking at her instead. It was the only way I could try to figure her out. It wasn't going to be an easy job. She was extremely covered up by the nuns habit and robes. The only thing I could see was her face. It was odd seeing such a young nun. I found that I couldn't get used to the loss of wrinkles. From what I could see, she was beautiful. Very beautiful in fact. It was hard to look away from that face._

_ "Will you stop looking at me?" she demanded angrily._

_ "So I can't talk and I can't look at you. What can I do?" In her anger part of her hair had fallen out and was hanging out from under her habit. It was blonde, not what I was expecting. She sighed and ignored me._

_ I had lost track of time but I knew that not much had passed. "Time will go a lot faster if we do something," I finally decided and she sighed in agreement._

_ It turned out that monks had a secret stash of games. I pulled out the first one and we spent more time figuring out the rules than actually playing it. We ended up making up our own as we could never understand what all of the tiles meant. She was very competitive but so was I. We would both make up new rules that put us in a temporary lead until the other put in the next rule. By the end the game was utterly ridiculous. We were in fits of laughter as we tried to repeat back the entire set of rules. There were many times when we were in danger of being too loud but the others never came in to yell at us. We finally ended the game but then spent the remainder of the night arguing over who won._

_ I awoke the next morning to a feel of cramp. I had fallen asleep at the table and was terribly stiff. The nun was gone but I heard voices in the next room. I crept over and managed to put my head around the door slightly._

_ She was arguing with Tuck, trying to whisper but her anger kept getting the better of her and she kept getting louder._

_ She was saying "you had no right to give him those. They were Allen's private writings."_

_ Tuck replied with "Allen would show them to anyone who would read them."_

_ "That's besides the point. That man has no right to read those. What are you trying to do? Make a new Robin Hood? Well stop trying. Because he is dead. It's just insulting his memory by trying." She was cut off by her own tears. She glared at him when he tried to comfort her and than she spotted me. This made her even madder. Words finally left her as she stormed out._

_ I didn't give Tuck a chance to explain, or come up with a lie. Instead I ran back to the original room and grabbed the parchment from a few nights ago._

_ One word stood out._

_ "__Keighley," I muttered to myself._

_ Tuck finally ran in, mumbling about some silly lie but I knew._

_ I had found Robin Hoods love._

_ I had read plenty of entries about __Keighley. It had been interesting to see that the gang had done more things then all of those boring kindly actions. _

_ She had caused quite a stir when she had joined the gang. Allen stated that, although she wasn't very beautiful, most of the men in the gang had fallen for her. He thought it was due to the fact of their being such a shortage of women around camp. It was hard to know how the affair had ended thanks to Tucks ability of refusing to hand over the true amount of parchment. It seemed that Allen and I had very different views on beauty._

_ I didn't have long to read as she slammed the door open. She snatched the parchment from my hands and in fear, I eagerly handed her the remaining entries that she had missed. She scanned them, obviously searching for any information about herself. Satisfied, she threw them to the floor and practically spat out "you shouldn't be wasting time dwelling on fantasies from the past."_

_ I was too shocked, or scared to say anything. Tension was high and I fought my hardest to remain silent._

_ We glared at each other until voices came from the main room. Tuck opened the door and announced, "The Merry Men are here."_

_ A look of sadness with panic came across her face. Tuck sighed "There is a door out the back."_

_ "I was never here," she said as she ran._

_ Needless to say, I was confused. Tuck lead me back out so I could finally meet the remaining merry men._

_ I had always imagined them as something larger than life but it was surprising to see how normal they were. In a crowd, they wouldn't stand out at all. They seemed friendly enough as most of them rushed forward to embrace Tuck. There was only three left and I remembered reading about a lot more._

_ "I bet you can't guess who they are?" Tuck challenged me._

_ There was no give away features out of the two I could see. Except on was quite short and had a look about him that made it seem that he was easy to make fun of. This was guaranteed when the other man gave him a small nudge, just to show him who was boss._

_ "You're Much aren't you?"_

_ "Was it his pathetic appearance that gave him away?" the other man said, laughing._

_ "And I get the feeling that you are Roger or Will."_

_ The man seemed impressed. "Roger," he said as he shook my hand._

_ Finally the final merry man de-hooded. I got quite a fright when I saw a woman. She was tall, with mousy brown hair. Not beautiful but no ugly. She was too young to be Amelia so that left one person._

_ "Lilly," I said._

_ She shocked me. "__Keighley actually."_

_ I tried to stay calm and pretend that I knew what was going on while really my mind was racing. "So why aren't you all with Robin Hood in the Holy Land?"_

_ "Someone had to stay and take care of England," Much claimed._

_ "Plus they practically begged Much not to go," Roger added. "If they were facing certain death, they didn't want to do it with Much's nagging." Much glared and Kate tried to stifle her laughter._

_ "So Tuck tells us that you can do some good moves with a sword," __Keighley said, eyeing me up and down. I wondered if I would be her next victim and looked away quickly._

_ "Lets test that," Roger said and suddenly darted forward, sword in hand. Luckily I was quick and also had my sword quickly in my hand after quickly leaping out of the way. I was ready for him no and with the element of surprise gone, I wasn't sure how lucky he would be. We were quite evenly matched. Every time it seemed one of us was taking the lead, the other would step up his game and try a lot harder._

_ Finally Tuck ran forward. "Gentlemen please, you're in a church." He seemed genuinely upset so we stepped apart, looking ashamed. I raised my head slightly to look at Roger who was cheekily looking back at me. Suddenly he lunged at me again and once again I was ready. Tuck sighed in despair and appeared to be muttering prayers asking for patience._

_ By the end of the night, Roger and I were, I won't say friends because I know how much he hates the term, but we were definitely friendly acquaintances. I tried to not make jokes about Much but he kept on making it so easy. This just made Roger and I closer. Keighley was generally silent on the side. Something must have happened to kill that strong confidence that she once possessed. I resolved to read all entries on __Keighley once they had gone to finally understand and in the hopes of finding the mystery woman._

_ It seemed that the Gang had been forced to come up with a few new tactics to make up for their lack of resources in the member variety. As I had already observed, they had given up on forest ambushes. They spent most of their time robbing as many rich households as they could and generally gave their spoils to Tuck to divvy out amongst the people that he knew would benefit most. Every now and then they would make deliveries as it brought back a sense of merriment that had long been lost. Seeing the reason for what they were doing made the hard work slightly easier._

_ I found that I got along very well with the Merry Men and was rather enjoying my night. This stopped when the door crashed open. I had my hand by my sword in an instant, ready for any guards._

_ "Raewyn," Roger said, surprised._

_ "Martha," Much said, with less surprise and more genuine happiness._

_ "George," I called as my friend followed the two. "That's right," I said to the gang, "I know people too."_

_ Raewyn ignored me and addressed Roger. "David has been arrested. He is going to be put to death."_

_ She then described in detail all of the factors that had occurred around her brothers arrest whilst I stopped listening. Instead I studied her. She wasn't like most women. She was barely like any women. Raewyn was the type who hated any signs of the weakness that she would later refer to as femininity. She refused to wear her hair long but rather cropped it short, almost resembling a man. Her clothing also resembled that of a man as she felt that dresses would only hold her back. She still proudly described herself as a woman but described herself as a strong and independent woman. She hated any woman who dared imply that she needed a man to save her from any situation. _

_ I could tell, even in those early days that __Keighley and Raewyn did not get along. I learnt later that there was many reasons for this. Namely the apparent wide spread rumours of __Keighley's romantic entanglements within Sherwood. Raewyn was disgusted by such antics and by the way Keighley had used her femininity to create such trivial drama._

_ Meanwhile Martha too, was avoiding entering the debate over how to save David. It was obvious that she was never around the gang for the purposes of state. She was much prettier than the other two women in the room but no one bothered to pay her any attention. It was clear that plans came far before socializing._

_ Finally it seemed that they had come to a consensus as everyone rose with their assigned responsibilities. _

_ George paused as he saw me remaining solitary. "Aren't you coming?"_

_ It was amazing how everyone stopped to turn and look at me._

_ I simply shrugged. "Why would I come? I don't know the man and I would probably just hold you all back."_

_ I had never seen Tuck look more disappointed._

_ "Lies," George said. "You know that you wouldn't hold us back. You have the worst pride of almost everyone I've ever met."_

_ So I simply shrugged. "I never made any promises," I muttered._

_ Roger snorted with disgust. "You were wrong Tuck," he said. "He is just another coward." With that, he led the others out._

_ I allowed myself to get comfy in my seat and prepared myself for sleep._

_ I had no regrets._

.

.

.

.

_ Splitting into smaller groups, the make shift merry men searched the dudgeons. Much was still fuming at my direct refusal to help after they had been all so sure that apparently some of my qualities reflected that of a born leader. I was sure that I had shown no such thing but some how I had managed to get every ones hopes up._

_ Much had been ranting the whole trip and was currently stating, "even if the git didn't want to join us he still could have at least helped. A mans life is at stake!"_

_ Roger and Raewyn ignored him and continued their hunt for David._

_ "And another thing-" Much said but was interrupted by the sound of armor. This was followed by guards wearing the armor. There was easily thirty versus the three of them._

_ "Don't bother," the Sheriff said as he stepped out from behind a pillar, "you are outnumbered. And so is the other little group on the other side of the dudgeon."_

_ He then specifically addressed Raewyn. "If you wanted to see your brother all you had to do was ask. I'll take you to his cell right now. You can even stay with him."_

_ Tuck leapt behind a pillar as he saw the Sheriff and his men emerge from the dudgeons._

_ "Alert Prince John immediately," the Sheriff told one man, "we are finally going to execute the last of Hoods men."_

_ Tuck groaned as he knew that I was every ones only hope._

_._

_._

_._

_I had been enjoying a rather nice sleep before Tuck came bursting in. It had taken the poor sod a long time to run back from the castle and it was early morning before he reached me._

_"Henry! I know you're are very opposed to helping others the others have being captured by the Sheriff!"_

_ I sighed but was secretly worried. I too had been captured by the Sheriff and it wasn't the best experience. And I was a nobody. They were associates of Robin Hood. They could be dead almost instantly._

_ So I ran. It was quite a sight. It seemed that all of Locksley had gathered. The Sheriff had never looked more smug. He had about twenty guards surrounding him and the handsome blonde man that I assumed was Guy of Gisbourne, the old enemy of Robin. I hid behind some barrels to assess the situation and it wasn't looking very promising. All three were chained very heavily in place._

_ I knew what I had to do. Sighing at the irony, I pulled up my hood and put on my best Robin Hood type voice. _

_ "Excuse me Sheriff," I yelled as I raised my bow. "I think it's time you learnt a lesson." I raised an arrow to my bow and pointed it straight at him._

_ The sheriff was petrified with fright. "It's not possible," he sputtered. Gisbourne too, looked ready to fall of his horse in shock. All of the villagers and captives were eagerly trying to see who I was to understand if I truly was their savior._

_ "Who are you?" Gisbourne barked, trying to push the look of fear of his face._

_ "Someone who doesn't like the way that you've been treating these people. Someone who thinks that your overtaxing is destroying lives. And someone who wont sit by and do nothing anymore." With that, I prayed that my bow would be true and aimed for the sheriffs hat. Thankfully, for once my aim was accurate and hit hat went flying onto the nearest wall. With a few quick strides I was beside the Sheriffs horse and with a quick move from my sword I had cut the bottom straps. With a cry of surprise his saddle turned upside down and he fell hard onto the muddy ground. His cries of fury were covered by the laughter and applause of the people._

_ "Guards do something!" he yelled but all of them were too scared to move. It must be the hood. All swords were dropped to the ground and the guards held up their hands in surrender. The sheriff tried a different approach. "Gisbourne!" he yelled._

_ Gisbourne was no coward like the others and turned to face me. He instantly leapt from his horse, sword in hand. "I knew Hood," he said to me, "And you are not him."_

_ "You're right," I replied, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I'm better." Gisbourne had lost his focus temporarily thanks to my words. Thanks to this, I saw my opening and quickly hit his sword away from him. Before he had a chance to react, I had my sword at his throat._

_ Gesturing to the nearest guard I ordered "unchain them" and thankfully he rushed forward to do it. When I saw they were free I tried once again "hey look a dragon!"_

_ Oh the irony of the fact that everyone looked. By the time they figured out my ploy a second time, I once again had a head start. The others quickly figured it out and were hot on my trail. Guards were too scared to follow. I could hear the Sheriff yelling insults at them but nothing could make them follow._

_ "Does this mean that you are joining us?" Much asked excitedly through his panting._

_ I thought of Tucks smug look when I was running from Locksley and finally admitted, "yes I am."_


End file.
